Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

When one looks at the Book of Estimates and sees that an additional €4 billion will be spent, one would imagine that all one's problems will be solved. The 11% increase, to €14 billion, in spending on health looks good, as does the additional 8% in respect of teachers. Indicating that an additional 800 teachers will be appointed also looks good. However, as regards the 11% increase in respect of health, provision has not been made to provide additional beds in the health service. A marker should be laid down in respect of that matter. What will be the percentage gain to the health system by the closure of smaller hospitals and how much of this will be spent on feeding the fat cats? This is the greatest deceit of all within the health service.

I will concentrate on the health service because it was on that ticket that I was elected. The money being invested will not change the direction in which the health service is heading. Several problems exist. The first of these relates to communications and what one is told by different Departments. It also relates to what one is told by the Government, the HSE and those at general manager level. They all say different things.

On Thursday of last week, the Minister for Health and Children indicated that the implementation team is proceeding with plans that will effectively demolish and finish off Monaghan General Hospital. We were informed that there would be vast volumes of work carried out at the hospital. Day services will continue to be offered there but the 24-hour, seven-day accident and emergency and X-ray services are being removed, as are acute medical care and the new acute unit. We have been informed that there will be a better service on offer, without one additional bed being put in place. People are expected to travel to Cavan General Hospital, which is already overcrowded and its staff overworked, for treatment. The position is similar in respect of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

What is happening does not make sense. The co-authors of the report presented to the Joint Committee on Health Children on Thursday last agree with me in that regard. Mr. John Saunders stated that it does not make sense to remove services before other services are put in place. Mr. Saunders's important statement should be examined because he obviously does not agree with what is happening. Anyone with a brain would not agree with taking a 24-hour service away. A test run of what it is proposed to do at Monaghan General Hospital was carried out between June 2002 and January 2005. In June 2002 there were five patients in the hospital, which was well on the way to being closed and which was off-call. During the period in which it was off-call — it is proposed to take the hospital off call again — 17 lives were lost. Numerous other lives were saved because people insisted on bringing loved ones and others to hospital by car.

When we raised this issue at ministerial, Department of Health and Children and hospital CEO level, we were informed that we were scaremongering and that we should not worry. That is a matter of Dáil record. In my view we should examine the Teamwork report to which I refer before matters go too far.

See this speech in context