Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

I would hate to see the Taoiseach not being sensitive if that is the kind of statement he can make about distressed relatives.

Let us deal with the real and measurable improvements the Tánaiste promised would occur within months of her statement last January. How many minor injury units and chest pain and respiratory clinics have been provided and where are they located? Is the MRI scanner for Beaumont Hospital in place and, if so, for how long has it been in place? How many of the acute medical units promised by the Tánaiste are in place? Is the Tánaiste aware that the one hospital that has managed to provide this kind of unit, St. Luke's in Kilkenny, was penalised and fined by the Tánaiste during the past year?

What is the delay with regard to the out-of-hours service in north Dublin, which was promised over one year ago? While there was an urgency about it at that time, there does not now seem to be any urgency from the Tánaiste. Why has the service not been put in place? There is clearly a desire among general practitioners in north Dublin to provide it. What is happening that the Tánaiste cannot even provide that simple measure? At what locations is GP access to diagnostics available and how many GPs can access diagnostics in this new and desirable way? What improvements have been made with regard to palliative care and where have they been made? All of these matters were contained in the Tánaiste's ten-point plan.

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