Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I wish to share time with my colleague Deputy Timmins. I wish the Minister for Health and Children well in the portfolio. She has taken a major political gamble because when the election comes, there is no better party than Fianna Fáil to put her in the limelight if this legislation does not work. The Fianna Fáil candidates will go around the country saying it has nothing to do with them, that it has all to do with the PDs. I compliment her because she could have taken any Department but had the courage to choose the Department of Health of Children. I wish her well, but I do not, however, want her to think that she can walk away from this. She was part of the Government that made a disaster of health in the past seven years and created the present problems. She now thinks the PDs can deal with this. I wish her well.

There is nothing worse for a Deputy than a constituent contacting him or her about a loved family member who needs a hospital bed urgently. Every week we are contacted by these people and the most important thing in their lives is that family member and getting the best for him or her. I hope what is proposed will work.

If I table a parliamentary question in future, will I get a response from the Minister for Health and Children or will I be told that it is now the responsibility of the chief executive of the new Health Service Executive? If the Minister will given an answer, I am happy, but if not, it is a serious blow to democracy. We are turning into a police state where all power is being taken from this House and the elected representatives and handed over to the State. That is wrong. I would not mind if we had a police state where the police dealt with the criminals and thugs but they do not, they deal with ordinary Joe Soap who breaks the law in a minor way. We are elected by the public to this House as Teachtaí Dála, messengers of the people. They want us to get replies from Ministers who are responsible for their respective Departments.

I read in my local newspaper last week about two schemes. One is the general medical service scheme which is a good initiative whereby doctors are paid for their services to medical card patients. I did not know about the second one, the drug initiative scheme. I regret I did not stay at school and become a doctor because it is a nice little earner. Will the Minister of State say what accountability is in place for this scheme?

In case Members do not know the scheme, it provides for every general practitioner in the GMS to be given a certain amount of money to run his or her surgery. If a patient has a heart complaint and three or four drugs are available, one costing €60, another €50, another €40 and another €30 and the doctor prescribes the €30 drug, €30 is saved, €15 of which goes to the Department and €15 to the drug initiative scheme which the GP may draw down for equipment, a new surgery etc.

I have no problem if this is good for the State and minimises the impact of the drug companies which promote and sell the drugs. However, it is Minister of State's responsibility, as it is mine, to ensure that the consumer or patient is protected. We do not want anyone playing God or people being short-changed in any way. I do not say that happens, but I want to see accountability for this scheme to ensure the patient is protected.

As for the health service, a constituent contacted me yesterday, who is in his eighties. He is in hospital in Galway and will go home tomorrow. He needs dialysis and to get it he will have to travel a 110 mile round trip from his home in County Mayo. The consultant has said he is not fit to travel to Galway every day. Despite this, in Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar, there is a dialysis unit that is not being used properly. I will qualify that. The hours it is in use and the staff are wonderful. Greater capacity could be brought into play at that hospital for a small amount of money and more staff, and the dialysis unit could be running 24 hours a day. Then my constituent would not have to be inconvenienced. He is not able to travel to Galway every day or every second day or whatever.

Everything need not be located in the cities. I listened to Deputy Woods and he is correct. I was in St. Luke's last night visiting a number of my constituents. I give full credit to that institution. One could only be impressed by the cleanliness of the hospital, the efficiency of the staff and the manner in which they carry out their duties. I compliment them. St. Luke's is not a nice place to have to go to, but if one has to, it is a wonderful institution. My constituents were quite happy to be there. I spoke to a number of them and I must be careful as I do not wish to identify them. They must go to Dublin on the train on a Monday and receive their treatment from Monday to Friday. In fairness to the hospital and its consultants, they do their best to have them treated in time to catch the midday or evening train home on the Friday. I compliment them on that also.

Nonetheless, it is difficult for individuals to set off from Donegal, Kerry or wherever. I would like to see the service available as close as possible to the west so that patients would not need to travel to Dublin. I accept that all these services cannot be available in every hospital. Everything need not be big, however.

If I were Minister for Health and Children, I would get rid of the combined private and public practice of medicine. A consultant should either be in private or public practice but not both. Consultants practising in both the public and private sectors have destroyed the health system. There is too much conflict of interest within the health service. Private medicine should be run by the private sector and public medicine should be run and paid for by the State without any recourse to private practice for consultants. They must deal on a day-to-day basis with the public sector.

I want to see Mayo General Hospital as well as hospitals in Galway and Dublin getting a certain number of specialties. These specialties should not all be located in the one hospital because this creates chaos and traffic congestion. Different Ministers say that there has never been so much money spent on health as in recent years. We are informed that there have never been as many staff. If so, why is there a crisis in the health service? Something must be wrong. I hope the new Health Service Executive works, but I am doubtful. I hope someone takes the initiative and outlines what must be done.

I do not want this to happen to the disadvantage of small rural areas and the county and regional hospitals, however. I do not want the Health Service Executive to insist that patients may be treated only in Dublin. These services must be spread throughout the State because there are sick people in rural Ireland as well as in Dublin. I have nothing against Dublin. People have given out to me on this and the Dáil ushers will say that I am against Dublin, but I am not. Dublin is a lovely city and I love to come to it, but I love to get out of it as well. One can never beat the west. One should not believe that Ireland is Dublin. I hope the Health Service Executive works so that the people can get a proper health service and be treated when they are sick without their relatives being embittered because their loved ones are unable to obtain treatment.

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