Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for calling me on this important subject.

There was a public protest in my constituency in Tallaght last Saturday, organised by the mayor of the county and the Labour Party, at which 4,000 people were present. It is only an indicator of the scale of public concern in the greater Tallaght region about the implications of the Government decision on a new national children's hospital, and the apparent implication of it for the retention and development of paediatric services at Tallaght Hospital. There are also implications arising from this decision on the downgrading of Tallaght Hospital itself.

Somebody was quoted as saying — I believe it was Mayor Eamonn Moloney — that 30,000 children were treated at Tallaght Hospital last year and that was 30,000 good reasons for ensuring the National Children's Hospital continues at Tallaght. There is no exaggerating the concern among parents and members of the public in the most densely populated area of the prospect of paediatric services being scaled down at Tallaght.

The situation would appear to be that following the development of a new national children's hospital, we may get what is termed as an urgent care centre at Tallaght. We do not know this because we cannot get clear answers from the Government. Although we do not know this, we would expect that if urgent care centres mean anything, one is likely to go to Tallaght.

From the perspective of the people of Tallaght, some of whom spent 20 years campaigning for the hospital at Tallaght, an urgent care centre is no more than a glorified clinic. It certainly does not meet the needs of people in the area, where there are so many people at the family formation stage and where all the modern day arguments about traffic, congestion, accessibility, communications, etc, apply.

The Government tends to indicate that the McKinsey consultants made this decision. The Government made this decision. The McKinsey consultants were brought in to advise on the ideal provision of paediatric services for a population of about 5 million. They were expressly prevented in the terms of reference from having regard to the current configuration of services and from deciding on a site. That was a Government decision.

I see much merit in the recommendation put forward by Archbishop Eames. It suggests that the best arrangement for Ireland is a single governance structure with two campuses, one northside and one southside at Tallaght. That does not mean the complex tertiary requirements would all have to be done in both locations. However, that would allow for the retention and development of paediatric services on a southside campus, in this case Tallaght, which would be accessible not just to the immensely populous region of the hinterland, but to people who travel from Cork, Mayo and Galway, etc. It is as much a struggle to get from Portlaoise to Newlands Cross as it is to get from Newlands Cross to the Mater Hospital.

The difficulty is that we cannot get any clarity from Government. The rather extraordinary procedures that were pursued in the making of this decision, and on which I have spoken on other occasions, have added to the concern and worry in my constituency. In submitting its tender, in the short timeframe allowed, the board of Tallaght Hospital drew attention to the nine McKinsey criteria, which included space, services, co-location, access, efficiency, people, teaching and research, financial stability and full project plan. They concluded that no other location met those nine requirements as well as Tallaght Hospital, and that conclusion has never been challenged. It has co-location with a major teaching hospital, ample space on the campus and offers the required services with a proven track record of expertise. It is accessible from all parts of the country, is efficient and has the necessary staff.

We do not know what the future holds for Tallaght Hospital. It is the conviction of the leadership of the hospital that if, as seems to be the import of the Government decision, all paediatric and tertiary services are transferred out of Tallaght and Crumlin to the Mater Hospital, it will not just be a blow to parents looking for services for their sick children but will impact on the stature of Tallaght Hospital itself, downgrading it when we should be planning for its continued development with the provision of maternity services and the retention and development of the paediatric services that are currently offered. I hope the Minister of State will be able to throw some light on the Government decision during this debate.

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