Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

He was a very far-sighted Minister for Health.

In 1998, I was involved with the board that opened the hospital. We were very clear that the National Children's Hospital would be an integral part of the Tallaght Hospital operation. We now need to know how to proceed. What will be the future of children's services in Tallaght Hospital? The bottom line for my community, with whom I have marched, is that children's services must be retained at the hospital. As Archbishop Eames told the Taoiseach, they must also be developed.

I will not repeat the points I made at the meetings of the joint committee but it is very important that I make clear my strong views and express my support for Tallaght Hospital. Even if I were not living in or representing Tallaght, I would still take the view that the hospital should be the chosen site for the National Children's Hospital. It meets all the criteria and the HSE decision has confused many people. It was a flawed decision.

Let me make a few other points on the future of Tallaght Hospital. As one will know, it was formed in 1998 through the charter by amalgamating the Adelaide and Meath hospitals and the National Children's Hospital. Its catchment area includes Tallaght, which is the third largest population centre in the country, and also stretches through north Kildare and Wicklow.

I have a number of worries regarding the development of services at Tallaght Hospital. It is important that cancer services remain in the hospital when the proposed cancer services review is completed next year.

There has been much talk in recent times about accident and emergency services, and Tallaght Hospital has had its difficulties in this regard. As one who lives in and represents Tallaght, I believe the new 39-bed transition unit, which was opened recently, is being used mainly by patients from the accident and emergency department whose length of stay is anticipated to be less than five days. I am glad that, since the opening of the unit, the number of patients waiting over night in the accident and emergency department has dropped significantly. We should all welcome this move.

The Minister for Health and Children stated last night that an extra 100 beds will be made available for public patients in Tallaght Hospital arising from the initiative she announced. This is positive news. However, I am unhappy about and agitated over the children's services issue, which needs to be clarified. I want the HSE to outline to the community in Tallaght and elsewhere the future of the services and state how they are to be developed.

See this speech in context