Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to participate in this important debate. Towards the end of last week I was approached by a friend who works within the health sector who advised me that the HSE has or is about to remove the planned upgrade at the Mid West Regional Hospital at Ennis from the national development plan of the HSE's capital works programme for 2007-11. I wish to establish if this information is accurate. Who is responsible for this decision? Why has some official within the HSE taken it upon himself or herself to attempt to overrule the commitments of the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, regarding the inclusion of phase 1A of the upgrade project at Ennis hospital for completion under the 2007-11 plan?

As politicians for County Clare we fought hard and were given commitments on the inclusion of this project in the capital development plan. How can these be discarded by what I regard as faceless bureaucrats? I have believed for some time that there has been a force within the HSE, and also within the old health board, that has tried to scupper this project.

This plan was first mooted 20 years ago. It took until 1997 to get a capital plan under way and the control plan that followed. Since then, it has been a constant struggle to get to where it is today. There have been endless meetings with Ministers, taoisigh and HSE personnel. The HSE has tried to block this many times. It has put forward the notion of value-for-money audits, cost-benefit analyses etc. and has tried at every opportunity to block the project. We have planning permission. We await the Teamwork report which, we are informed, we need to go to tender. It is my view that we should be going to tender rather than discussing the delays. What I want is a commitment that this project will go to tender this year. It is not acceptable to take money that is planned for the mid-west to use it to solve problems in Dublin. Of course, there are issues in Dublin but there are also issues in the mid-west and in County Clare. The lives of the people of County Clare and the mid-west are as important as the lives of people in the capital city. This project was planned for completion between 2007 and 2011. Nothing will be acceptable, other than the completion of that project on time.

See this speech in context