Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I fully recognise the motivation of Deputy O'Shea in tabling this matter for debate. However, what he is asking the Government to do sits better with the Government's open approach to independent providers than the motion debated in the House this week, which condemned me for encouraging private health provision. I am being asked to procure services for public patients from a private provider, in this case a for-profit organisation. This is a highly respectable organisation but it is a for-profit private hospital. What Deputy O'Shea is suggesting is in total conflict with what he voted for last night and what his party moved in the House this week. I respect Deputy O'Shea's motivation in tabling the matter for discussion.

The Government is committed to making the full range of cancer services available and accessible to cancer patients throughout Ireland. Best outcomes for patients are achieved when all aspects of cancer care, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are delivered by multi-disciplinary teams based around major centres.

The HSE is implementing the Government's decision to create a national network of radiation oncology with two centres in Dublin, one in Cork, an integrated satellite service in Waterford and one in Galway, with a satellite in Limerick. We have also now agreed arrangements to have the major centre at Belfast City Hospital offer treatment for patients from Donegal.

Public patients are being treated at a centre in Limerick that was created by the Limerick hospital trust and is being run by the Mater private hospital. The HSE is working closely with that centre so that its services are used productively and fit in with cancer policy and quality guidelines.

There has also been recent contact between the HSE and the University of Pittsburgh medical centre's Whitfield centre to explore the scope and conditions for the procurement of its radiation oncology services. The HSE will comply with relevant procurement and quality guidelines in any contracting for these or, indeed, any other services from private sector providers.

As Deputy O'Shea is aware, I am open to all solutions from the public and private sectors that deliver quality care faster to patients. That is why today I have announced the approval of a capital investment in six new linear accelerators for St. Luke's, St. James's and Beaumont hospitals, in advance of the completion of the radiotherapy PPP.

The HSE has my full support in procuring quality services for patients from private, not-for-profit, independent providers or from the public sector. I share Deputy O'Shea's view that we will be able to procure services at the Whitfield centre for patients from the Waterford region in advance of our investment opening there in 2011.

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