Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)

I want to speak about a deplorable situation that has been allowed to continue in two towns in my constituency. Over a period of time alterations were carried out to Áras Mhuire nursing home to provide two palliative care beds. The building works have been completed for a number of months but it has not been possible to open those beds because the staff have not been provided. We now have the farcical situation where approval has been given to employ the number of staff required but they cannot be employed because there is no money to pay them. It is difficult to imagine that there is no money to pay nursing staff to run two palliative care beds in Tuam, County Galway when the Government is continually boasting about the amount of wealth being created in the country. It is unacceptable that there is no money to allow two beds to be operated so that people who are terminally ill can have a little comfort in their last days. It is a disgrace to allow that continue without providing the small sum required. In her contribution the Tánaiste asked for good suggestions. My first suggestion is that she end that disgraceful situation.

I want to refer to the Tuam campus project. I appeal to the Tánaiste and the Government to give approval for Tuam community hospital to proceed and also to give approval for an ambulance base to be located in Tuam to serve the north east Galway area, which is an ambulance black-spot. The case for this entire project has been made by me in this Chamber on numerous occasions but time does not allow me go into it tonight. The case was made to the Tánaiste by Tuam town commissioners last January and she promised them on that occasion that she would get back to them within four weeks with a decision. That is 36 weeks ago and the Tánaiste has yet to get back to them. My second suggestion to the Tánaiste, and it is a good one, is to act now on this urgently needed project.

Last Monday, because of the chaos in the accident and emergency unit in University College Hospital Galway, consideration was being given to closing accident and emergency services completely and declaring a major emergency. That is an indication of the seriousness of the matter. There is little point in the Tánaiste or the Government saying it is an operational matter. It is simple; the buck stops at the door of Government.

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