Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

There are improvements in the Book of Estimates. I welcome, for example, the work being done on the national primary route through Monaghan, the M2, and the bypass of Monaghan town and Castleblaney. I spoke to someone from the Cavan end of the constituency who travelled to Dublin today but never got above 40 miles per hour on the M3. The way that route has been handled by the authorities, the impossible delays in the entire Navan route, and the lack of funding for the Cavan end of it, is something that must be reconsidered.

Deputy Andrews said the Estimates got all the basics right. We are not cribbing on this side of the House but we are talking about facts. A lady contacted me last night regarding a young handicapped man who had a further accident and is now disabled from the neck down. He began a computer course but after two days at the training centre he was told he could not return because there was no money left to pay a classroom assistant. That is simple basics and is totally unacceptable.

There was talk of hundreds of thousands of medical cards being issued. In Cavan-Monaghan we lost 10,000 medical cards. In the Book of Estimates there is only a 9% increase in the budget. Therefore, the assertion of a 20% increase in the number of medical cards is bunkum. They cannot be delivered unless someone else draws up the budget.

It is hard to understand €50 million of capital funding was sent back by the health service when so much money was needed. A 9% budget increase has to cover the entire nursing home debacle. I cannot help but mention the winding down of Monaghan General Hospital. What will that cost in lives? We have seen what happened in the past year, yet without any consultation, the hospital is wound down. I have said many times that I do not mind a winding down if alternatives are put in place. The Taoiseach said this morning in the House that the Cavan hospital is in chaos, yet he will agree to the closure of Monaghan in terms of any serious surgical work. He plans that the people involved will be moved to Cavan, which he says is in chaos.

Where are we going? A 9% increase has been given to the north-eastern health area, the same as for other areas. No recognition has been given to the massive increase in the population of that area, above any other area in the country, and that has been the case for some time. When the Health Service Executive took over, we thought we would get some recognition at national level. In the North-Eastern Health Board area, Meath has increased in population by 33%, Louth by a little over 20%, while Monaghan-Cavan overall shows the highest increase in the country, yet there is no recognition of this in the Book of Estimates.

Deputy McGuinness spoke about care for the elderly and I agree with him. It is marvellous to hear a Government backbencher saying this. We got total agreement with the Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs that action should be taken in that regard, but the agreement did not result in any action being taken.

See this speech in context