Shane McEntee (Meath, Fine Gael)

I do not know why the issue cannot be kept simple. Last week one of my constituents, married to a Lithuanian girl, had a serious sinus problem. He went to a consultant and was told he needed an operation. The procedure could not happen for three weeks because no bed was available, and the man would have to give up work. His wife booked a flight and brought her husband to Lithuania. He had an operation that evening, paid a fee of €30 and was given medicines worth €65. He was sent back to Ireland and was back to work within a week. He received treatment in a basic hospital with a top-class operating service.

I checked this again today as I thought I might have dreamed that an Irish citizen had to get on an aeroplane and fly to Lithuania, paying €30 for an operation before being able to go back to work. That is what is wrong with this country's health service. When I was growing up, the hospital in Navan was one of the finest hospitals in the country. I was a patient several times myself, sometimes through my own fault and sometimes when I could do nothing about it. One could access basic services and almost any operation could be performed.

I spent 17 hours in the same hospital two weeks ago with my own child and I eventually had to take her out of it at 8.30 a.m. because nobody could provide a diagnosis for her. Monaghan General Hospital has an operating table and there are hospitals in Cavan and Drogheda. It is like a refugee camp in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda because it is the only bit of comfort we have.

This has nothing to do with consultants, most of whom are finished work at 2.30 p.m. because there are no operating tables or beds available. I blame nobody but this Government. Why did it not assess what was going on? It had the necessary money and people, and it knows how many extra people are entering the country on a daily basis. We now have a system where if a person is sick, he or she does not know where to turn. It will not be sorted out in two or three months.

Blaming others will not help and we must go back to the basics, where every Deputy will look after his own hospital, ensure the operating tables are opened again and that consultants — Irish or otherwise — are put in place. There is no point in putting in place 1,500 extra consultants and paying them over €30 million a year if they are finished work at 11 a.m. Under this Government's plan that will happen.

Every hospital and operating room in Ireland should be reopened. The issue should not be complicated as too much money is already being spent on consulting on what should not be done. I realise elections are approaching but it is not time for playing politics with people's lives. The Minister for Health and Children did so last week and I am glad that the proper answer will be given by the people in three months.

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