James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I thank my family and the people of Longford-Westmeath who elected me to represent them. During my campaign I placed health at the top of my priorities for them when elected and pledged to bring about the long-promised completion of phase 2B of Longford-Westmeath General Hospital. One may ask what this has to do with the debate but it is my contention that it is at its heart. It relates not only to my priorities but to those which should be at the centre of the agenda of the Minister for Health and Children. Sorting out the existing difficulties and outstanding projects in the health service should be to the fore in her endeavours rather than further diluting our resources. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not acceptable when the losers will be the public hospital sector.

In reply to a question I tabled yesterday on phase 2B of Longford Westmeath General Hospital, which was the latest effort in my decade-long campaign to get closure on this issue, once again the Minister took refuge in the fact that she is waiting for a detailed cost-benefit analysis of the outstanding funding for this project, conveniently overlooking the fact that this issue has been dragged out for in excess of a decade and that she is trying to drip-feed the final funding necessary for the completion of this lifesaving facility for the midlands.

Although many Members have asked the Minister to publish the cost-benefit analysis of all the aspects of the proposal under debate it is not available. The Tánaiste and Minister for Finance and the Minister for Health and Children show an alarming lack of knowledge of the financial implications of co-location and neither can give the full lifetime cost to the State of this proposal.

Longford-Westmeath is a long way from the £62 million promised ten years ago, given the present delay in the provision of the sum of €45 million required to complete the project. Lives will continue to be lost until this facility is fully up and running and I am determined to see this project completed sooner rather than later. I call on the Minister to honour the Government's oft-repeated promise to the midlands in this regard. Given an underspend of €100 million by the Health Service Executive in 2006, I am at a loss to understand how on the one hand the Government can continue to ignore the needs of the sick, the elderly and the disabled while on the other, the Exchequer grabs back the money earmarked for their well-being.

However, the Minister's disregard for the suffering of her fellow man was surely illustrated horribly by her latest pronouncement in which she assured Members that it was pleasant for many patients on trolleys in accident and emergency departments. The Minister's statement was outrageous and I wonder what the 200 or more patients who are forced daily to spend days on trolleys think about such an extraordinary utterance.

Moreover, the Minister has stated clearly that a difference exists between her and the head of the HSE in respect of co-location policy. The Minister's attempt to disregard the comments of the HSE's chief executive have only served to reveal a deeper disparity between his views, those of the Minister and Government policy.

During both today's Question Time and this debate, the Minister has shown that there are key areas of confusion regarding the co-location policy. Professor Drumm has stated that co-located hospitals and the HSE will be competitors, whereas the Minister has stated that the public and private facilities will be integrated. Moreover, the Minister claims that the project is designed to provide an additional 1,000 acute beds, while the head of the HSE states there is no requirement for additional acute beds.

While the Minister may attempt to blur the lines of these divisions, the facts are clear for all to see. It appears that the HSE's chief executive has as much enthusiasm for the advancement of this project as does the public, who voted in such numbers for candidates who opposed it. It is high time the Government recognised it as a misguided and ill-conceived plan before our health service is further damaged and vital public land is irretrievably lost. This will be the case if the Minister proceeds with this policy.

On behalf of the people of Longford-Westmeath and the entire region, I beg the Minister——

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