Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

Since I last spoke on this Bill and the need for a rights based approach to nursing home provision and clarification on the constitutional legal issues regarding the provision of a bed in a private nursing home for a public patient with a medical card, none of the questions I asked has been answered.

I will refer to two communications. The first is from the HSE which I received yesterday and which states regarding Galway:

Over the next five years there are no new Public Nursing Home spaces envisaged, however, a new Alzheimer's Unit, in partnership with the West of Ireland Alzheimer's Association, will be constructed in the grounds of Merlin Park, providing 25 extra beds.

In ten years in Galway, 49 public nursing home beds were provided — 12 in Áras Ronán on the Aran Islands, 17 in Carna and 20 in Áras Mac Dara.

The second communication I received was from someone who sent me details of canvassing by private consortiums to build private hospitals in grounds owned by the public hospitals in Galway. Regarding this, Professor Drumm of the Health Service Executive issued a statement yesterday on the co-location of private hospitals on public sites which states, "Expressions of interest were sought on May the 19th from interested parties to develop co-located hospitals on the grounds of 11 hospitals". The statement lists these hospitals which include Galway University Hospital, and continues, "Expressions of interest are to be submitted to the National Hospitals Office by June 30th at which time short listing will take place". We will not debate it here. The statement continues:

After the competitive dialogue stage, successful consortiums will be invited to tender for the provision of a private hospital on the above sites.

Depending on the number of successful applicants, the HSE will move forward with the co-location of private hospitals on all or some of the above sites.

No one states how the successful applicants are to be chosen in any accountable or transparent way.

The land available, originally given to the public hospitals in Galway, had a stipulation that it would be available for public health. This is a raid on public property by private hospitals and individuals. A Deputy from my constituency suggested this is all in the interest of public patients. When the classy private patients have been removed from public hospitals, more space will be available for public patients. This is the type of thinking offered by Deputy Grealish. At present, in preparation for the closing date, letters are being circulated to consultants in Galway asking whether they would like a bit of this. It is not that there will be one private hospital on public property in Galway, apparently there will be two.

In ten years in the entire County Galway 49 public nursing home beds were provided. At the same time, we are told in a chilling sentence that there are no proposals for any public nursing home space in the next five years, except for some assistance to be provided to a voluntary organisation which has gathered pounds, punts and euro to provide spaces in the face of Government failure.

Why are the public not in revolt at this appalling behaviour? Old people are entitled under any concept of citizenship to decent rights. The Government, the Department, the HSE — and the health boards before it — seek to hide from the public the implications of the Health Act 1970 and the constitutional case taken in the High Court which suggests that a person on a medical card is entitled to a public nursing home space and where it is not provided should be entitled to a bed in a private nursing home. Nobody in the administration wants to clarify the entitlements of an elderly person, while the rapacious supporters of the small rump of the Government, the PDs, canvass on how to steal public property from the public who want to see nursing home beds provided on public ground and step down facilities and who do not want rich people to be canvassed on how to steal from the public in the name of health.

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