Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to conclude the debate on behalf of the Government and the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. It has focused on developments in cystic fibrosis services and mental health services, in particular. Many points were made in respect of general health issues and local concerns. From the contributions of my colleagues, the Ministers of State, Deputies Devins and Hoctor, and statements made by the Minister, it must be clear that the Government is committed to building services for people with cystic fibrosis and mental health services and that we are ensuring actions are taken to meet that commitment.

On Thursday afternoon last the Minister dealt with these issues at Question Time, when many of the same points were raised and debated. There is no discourtesy intended to the House or the Opposition in the Minister being away on official business this week. Her trip was organised by the Department several months ago in response to specific invitations. Fine Gael, as is normal for official business abroad, accorded the Minister the facility of a pair for the week. I acknowledge the co-operation of Deputy Kehoe in this regard.

The substance of the debate is the most important aspect. In that context and since the publication of the Pollock report, the Minister and the Government have made available almost €7 million in additional funding for the development of services for cystic fibrosis sufferers. This has led to the recruitment of 44 new specialist staff across nine hospitals and we look forward to 37 further staff members being recruited with the funding available. It is acknowledged that, as the recommendations in the Pollock report are being implemented, these new staff are beginning to make improvements to services.

The Minister and the Government have made the correct funding and policy decisions in response to the Pollock report. It is now about implementation. We all want to see new facilities put in place at hospitals like St. Vincent's in Dublin as rapidly as possible. None of us finds conditions for cystic fibrosis patients acceptable.

This and previous Governments have wanted to see a fast pace of capital developments, once political approval has been given for funding. This is not confined to capital works for cystic fibrosis services but goes across the board, and beyond health too. We know there are legal and technical constraints on the speed of capital works, but the Minister, the Government, and the HSE management are determined to ensure capital funding under the national development plan is used rapidly and efficiently for the strategic purposes decided at political level. The HSE has assured the Minister it now has the capacity to make full use of its significant capital allocation.

In regard to cystic fibrosis, St. Vincent's Hospital and the HSE are acting in accordance with the public and political desire to see as fast a pace of capital development as possible. We are certainly making progress and I am confident the new dedicated facilities at St. Vincent's for cystic fibrosis patients will be put in place quickly, and that innovative ways of making the earliest possible progress this year will be implemented, as the Minister of State, Deputy Devins, outlined last evening. This will result, for example, in a total of 14 single rooms for cystic fibrosis patients by the end of the summer.

In regard to mental health, it is not the case that many sites have been sold by the HSE since A Vision for Change was adopted by Government, with the capital receipts supposedly lost to mental health services. The only property where a transaction has been completed is St. Loman's in Dublin and the €38 million involved will contribute to funding mental health capital developments under the national development plan.

New developments will include, for example, a new acute psychiatric unit at Letterkenny General Hospital. The HSE has informed me it expects to have the design work completed so as to be able to go to market for construction tenders by the end of this month.

The Government and HSE are fully committed to implementing A Vision for Change. This report and its acceptance by Government in 2006 is a major milestone in the development of mental health services. The Government has given priority to the area in funding decisions and in the appointment of my colleague, Deputy Devins, to the area as Minister of State.

I assure the House he is determined to ensure funding allocated by Government to mental health is actually used fully for mental health services.

See this speech in context