Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

I welcome this debate and I wholeheartedly support the motion, which calls for some simple, pragmatic solutions to a problem that afflicts the 10,000 and more people who are affected by acquired brain injury. The motion also requests the establishment of a regional network of rehabilitation facilities and services to be established in the context of a national rehabilitation strategy. The response from the Government side offers nothing that would provide comfort or encouragement to those suffering from acquired brain injuries in the context of addressing their needs.

There is a regional disparity in the delivery of health care. If one lives in Cork, Kerry, Galway or Donegal, one is already at a disadvantage if one suffers with an acquired brain injury. The disparity to which I refer must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Not only does this disparity exist in the area of health, it is also prevalent in the economy and in the Government's regional policy.

I recently made representations to a neurologist on behalf of a person with an acquired brain injury. He confided in me that if he was to close the doors of his practice tomorrow, he would have sufficient clients to deep him in business for the next two years. That illustrates the seriousness of this issue.

Those on the Government side stated that the development of a new rehabilitation centre is at the planning stage and that this will hopefully be up and running by 2012. That assertion does not provide any grounds for confidence. The motion before the House calls for an increase in the number of approved posts for consultant neurologists from 24 to 42. Such a development would almost, if not quite, bring us up to a standard which obtains in other European countries and would represent an immeasurable improvement on the existing position.

What we are ultimately concerned with is people's dignity. There are those who have no access to the services of which they should be able to avail as a matter of right. These individuals will gain no comfort from what is being said by those on the Government side because there does not appear to be a sense of urgency about this matter. The Labour Party is requesting that there be such a sense of urgency in order to preserve people's dignity and give them the right to a standard of health care their tax euros should afford them. Be they resident in Dublin or the regions, they should be treated as equals. That is what we are calling for in this debate.

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