Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I wonder where is the Minister for Health and Children. Is there anyone from the Department of Health and Children in the Chamber who cares about the health of the people of Monaghan? Today, meetings are taking place between management and staff regarding further winding down of services at Monaghan General Hospital. Some 48 nurses, 42 non-clinical staff, 22 administration staff and 18 support staff are to be redeployed. Most doctors will be redeployed or will go and the hospital, where €14 million has been spent in the past few years, will be restructured into a rehabilitation centre. Two thirds of the services and staff are being removed.

In the past week we have seen the anger of ordinary people at the treatment of over 70s by this Government. The Minister for Health and Children and the Fianna Fáil-led Government has done a partial U-turn regarding the medical card for most but not all. Is it fair that these will be the group of people to suffer most from the proposed withdrawal of Monaghan General Hospital from the public service? That the service will no longer be available in Monaghan and that they must pay transfer costs to Cavan or Drogheda means that people will delay going for treatment where possible, until it is much more serious and may even lead to death. At this late stage, I beg the Minister to ignore more highly paid experts from London and listen to the consultants and staff at Monaghan General Hospital. Can the Minister of State advise me as to the difference between the elderly and the sick in County Roscommon who voted for the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, and the families who voted in County Monaghan? Are the taxpayers of County Roscommon more important than those of County Monaghan?

Is it not time that the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, or some senior person on her behalf, looked at the excellent refurbishment work that has been carried out, not only on the two active wards in Monaghan General Hospital but also at the one that was recently closed? In the accident and emergency room patients are dealt with more quickly than in most others in Ireland and there is also the partially used state-of-the-art theatre.

I appreciate that the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, and his colleagues have apologised openly in the Dáil to the elderly people of Ireland for their ill-informed actions regarding medical cards. I have been told that some Ministers actually had tears in their eyes. They should remember the 17 patients who died when Monaghan General Hospital was off-call before. I beg the Minister of State, his ministerial colleagues and his colleagues in Government to end the stupidity of closing down Monaghan General Hospital while there is no alternative. They would avoid having the deaths of future patients on their hands if not on their consciences.

I have the document in my hand that we were given only a few minutes ago. That is the courtesy we, as Members of the Oireachtas, were afforded.

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