Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

This is an opportunity to debate our health services, the policies we are implementing, and the progress our country is making on the basis of facts.

If our debates are not informed by facts and a recognition of progress that has been and is being made, then we have no rational basis on which to map out what needs to be done next, to make clear what our priorities should be, how to allocate funding, and how to build sustained improvements and higher performance. This is the only basis on which those of us involved in doing, rather than commentating, can act. It is only by recognising real progress that we can address real issues.

I do not want to rehearse a long list of general statistics, but I want to address particular aspects of the debate this evening. It is the truth, for example, that life expectancy has increased rapidly in Ireland in the last two decades, one of the fastest rates in the developed world, and especially since 1999. Our cardiac and cancer services are improving constantly and are far improved from where they were, only ten years ago. Waiting times for common operations have been cut from years to months. The number of people with medical cards has been rising again since 2004 and more people can visit the doctor free of charge than at any time since the early 1990s. Our hospital services are expanding in range, depth and volume with many hundreds more consultants and specialist staff treating tens of thousands more people. We now have home care for 10,000 older people where we had none a few years ago. We have breast cancer screening where we had none and we will soon start cervical and colorectal screening.

These are facts. It is real progress and we are determined to build on this reality. We are not where we want to be yet, but we are getting there.

I will turn to some specific aspects of the debate and first I will address the cystic fibrosis services. The improvement of services to persons with cystic fibrosis has been a priority for the Government and for my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Mary Harney. We are as concerned as anyone in this House to improve services and facilities for people with cystic fibrosis. We understand the frustration of patients and their families while new facilities are yet to open. However, we have begun to make progress in services.

Following publication of the Pollock report in 2005, the Health Service Executive established a working group to undertake a detailed review of cystic fibrosis services. The group, which was multi-disciplinary in its composition and included representation from the Department of Health and Children, was asked to review the current configuration and delivery of services to persons with cystic fibrosis in Ireland. It identified a range of service improvements required, including the need to increase the level of clinical, nursing and allied health professional staffing in cystic fibrosis units around the country.

Arising from the Pollock report and the emerging recommendations of the working group, the Minister for Health and Children allocated additional revenue funding of €6.78 million to the HSE in 2006 and 2007. This helped in the appointment of 44 additional staff, covering both adult and paediatric services across a number of hospitals, throughout the country. The necessary funding is available to facilitate the recruitment of a further 37 staff nationally.

The HSE was asked to place a particular focus on the development of services at the national adult tertiary referral centre at St. Vincent's Hospital, here in Dublin. A number of capital projects have recently been completed at the hospital and have helped to improve facilities. These include a new ambulatory care centre, the refurbishment of St. Camillus's ward, and a new accident and emergency department which includes single room accommodation. I accept that these developments do not address the immediate needs of patients. For that reason, the HSE is currently fast-tracking the re-development of a ward which is adjacent to the main cystic fibrosis treatment area. The project is to commence within the next few weeks and will provide six single rooms. On completion, additional work will begin to provide a further eight single rooms. This will result in a total of 14 single rooms for cystic fibrosis patients by the end of the summer.

In the longer term, a new ward block is to be built and will include 120 replacement beds in single en suite accommodation, including accommodation for cystic fibrosis patients. Planning permission has been obtained, financial provision has been included in the HSE capital plan and the contract is to be awarded this year. It will be a condition of the contract that the design and build period is to be not more than 24 months from the date of contract award.

Beaumont Hospital operates as a regional centre in providing services to adults with cystic fibrosis. In the 2008 budget a special allocation of €2.5 million capital funding was provided to enable Beaumont Hospital to provide outpatient facilities for cystic fibrosis patients.

An independent registry for cystic fibrosis has been established. As yet, the data is not available to fully inform analysis relating to median survival in this country. When it is available, the data from the registry will allow for benchmarking against comparable countries around the world to measure the performance of our healthcare system.

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