Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

To specifically answer the Deputy — I may have been too general — all the hospitals, Letterkenny, Sligo, Omagh, Daisy Hill in Newry, Cavan, Drogheda, Dundalk and Monaghan, are trying to work in co-operation. That is why I mentioned the efforts with Altnagelvin and Daisy Hill. We are very anxious to work with them. The Tánaiste is due to have meetings next week or the week after with the medics in the North about further co-operation. We are in favour of that and of trying to improve the services and facilities.

As has been stated, one cannot have everything in every hospital, but one must try to ensure we have a good service across all these areas as well as in other rural areas. We are committed to doing that and it is happening. A large number of the additional accident and emergency consultants have been appointed to these hospitals and we are making efforts to try to continue to do that.

Over the past four or five years much work has been done on a North-South basis. We are trying to increase co-operation where it makes sense to do so to avoid the type of case the Deputy mentioned where neither service responded to an incident.

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