Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

As my colleague, Deputy Ó Caoláin, said yesterday, there is a degree of puzzlement among the people as to what the sums published in the Estimates will mean in reality. He gave the example of the proposed level of spending on health. People wonder where are all the services that ought to be in place if that amount of money is being spent. They need not be puzzled about some areas as we can see where the ongoing reductions in services are being made and where previous commitments to improvements have not been met.

In my constituency Kerry General Hospital is a good example of where both staff and patients can clearly see that money is not being spent. The hospital scored badly in the recent audit of hygiene standards. In some quarters this has been attributed to carelessness or lack of professionalism on the part of staff, but I know from talking to those involved in cleaning the hospital that basic supplies are often not made available and the cleaners are expected to manage with inadequate supplies.

There is a suspicion that this is part of a plan to downgrade Kerry General Hospital. That suspicion appears to have a solid foundation as a rumour is circulating that a senior officer in the Health Service Executive has stated this is the case. That is the logical conclusion that must be drawn, given the persistent refusal to address the crisis in the accident and emergency unit and the failure to appoint a cardiac specialist as requested. In the current situation where this downgrading is taking place — I am sure it is replicated in other hospitals — it is no wonder that people are taking the promise of increased spending with a grain of salt.

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