Ulick Burke (Galway East, Fine Gael)

The situation then was that a 40-bed unit would be provided. However, in the past two years since Deputy Harney's visit, the hospital has gone from 187 beds to 72 beds for the elderly in this public hospital in County Galway. The only stroke unit we have in the west of Ireland, in Merlin Park Hospital, is now also under threat despite the great attention of the medical personnel there who developed it into an important unit from nothing through their own endeavour. Now the Minister, over the HSE, has decided to disband the unit and it will take years to redevelop the facility.

Deputy Pádraic McCormack mentioned the home help service. The Minister has no idea of what is happening on the ground in this regard. I will tell her. If someone in the west phones the HSE and informs it for example that someone aged 93 or over has come out of hospital and needs home help to be provided, the response will be "No" because the HSE cannot employ any more home helps. It may be able to give the person one hour's help if it takes that hour from somebody else or it will offer €200 for the person to employ someone, but they must provide PRSI and all other tax details on the person they employ. A person of 93 years should not have to deal with such details to avail of the €200 for such help, but that is the reality of the service over which the Minister presides. Is it any wonder the Minister's colleague says dealing with the HSE is infuriating? He knows about it and I presume he was trying to do something for his constituency when he found it so infuriating.

Furthermore, the Minister is removing funding from Portiuncula Hospital's breast cancer services and bringing it to the centre of excellence which cannot do the procedures done in Portiuncula. That is what the Minister is doing. The HSE is disintegrating in front of her eyes, but she is doing nothing about it.

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