Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)

My colleagues may not be aware of what is happening in County Kerry. In Kerry General Hospital we are on our third locum accident and emergency consultant. The post has been advertised by the HSE but no one is willing to take up the position because they do not have the registrars, SHOs or junior doctors. Why would anyone take a senior post when the support is not there for them? This has been going on for a number of years and it is about time to remedy the situation. The last resident accident and emergency consultant in Kerry General Hospital left for Tullamore and is now a member of a team of three accident and emergency consultants there. There are five registrars and ten HSOs at a hospital with the same output of 39,000 patients as Kerry General Hospital. I am calling on the Minister to take action. My colleagues have referred to cutbacks, but we have been suffering from this for years in Kerry. We have sought a specialist nurse to treat the 300 patients suffering from Parkinson's disease in Kerry, but it has proved impossible to get one. That situation needs to be addressed.

I was contacted by a man recently whose 86 year old mother is suffering from Alzheimer's. He is keeping her at home for the sake of her dignity. He was refused the respite care grant because he works more than 15 hours on his farm. If he was not working more than 15 hours on his farm he would not be able to keep himself, never mind keeping his mother at home.

See this speech in context