Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Deputy Timmy Dooley.

I will start by doing something that is probably unheard of in this House, which is to praise the HSE. I had the pleasure of opening a new facility owned by the Irish Wheelchair Association in Tipperary and both the association and those running the facility could not have been stronger in their praise of the co-operation they received from the HSE. It underlined the fact that much good work is done each day by the people who work in and administer the health services, yet there is almost a blanket media and political negativity about the HSE. It must make it more difficult and demoralising for people to do their job, and it is mostly a very good job.

I take this opportunity to express my admiration for and confidence in the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney. She took on a very difficult job some years ago and, despite the difficult financial situation, she is continuing to develop the health services and has managed to keep real cutbacks to a minimum in all circumstances.

I wish to put on record a few observations on the reconfiguration of hospital services in the south east. There has been a great deal of investment in the South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel which, after decades, was chosen to be the principal site of services. The choice was between it and Cashel.

There has been much discussion and some speculation that may have been motivated with an eye to forthcoming elections. There is no reason that a hospital such as South Tipperary General Hospital should not keep its maternity services. There are no health reasons for concentrating maternity services in regional centres and centres of excellence. I notice that in the reconfiguration of the Dublin hospital scene it has been suggested that stand-alone maternity hospitals should gradually cease to function and join with more general hospitals. That situation exists in south Tipperary where there is no evidence of maternal or infant health problems, nor is there any suggestion that the hospital's performance is any less than in hospitals with an even larger throughput. I make a strong plea that maternity services are maintained at South Tipperary General Hospital.

I gather that when it comes to accident and emergency services there is a rule of thumb to the effect that people should not be more than one hour from a hospital. However, by the time an ambulance gets to somebody, very often much of that hour will have already gone. Even if an ambulance were to arrive instantaneously, there are many parts of south Tipperary that are more than an hour away from Kilkenny, Cork, Waterford or Limerick. There has been much investment in South Tipperary General Hospital and I hope its character as a general hospital will be maintained. I believe there is every reason that it should but I wish to put it on the record of the House.

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