Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

On occasions in this House, for the sake of political hyperbole, we engage in mock outrage. All members of the House do it. On this issue, however, I am totally outraged at the conduct of the Minister and the Government. I believe the Minister should hang her head in shame at the manner in which she has dealt with those who suffer from cystic fibrosis.

I do not believe anything the Minister says about this issue can be relied upon. I do not believe that in dealing with this issue in the past in this House, the Minister has been truthful. I do not believe credibility should be given to the announcement made by the Minister at the start of this week as a response to the motion before the House today. I say all of this with some regret. I believe cystic fibrosis sufferers and their families have become pawns in a political game played by the Minister and this Government who respond in an appropriate media-friendly way when put under pressure and then entirely renege on commitments given both inside and outside this House.

I believe the Minister has betrayed the approximately 1,100 people in this country who suffer from cystic fibrosis, and those who have prematurely died during the lifetime of a succession of Fianna Fáil-PD Administrations and the present Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government. In a very similar debate in this House on a motion proposed by my colleague, Deputy Reilly - I spoke after him, as I do today - on 5 February 2008, we addressed all of these issues and solemn commitments were made by Government. However, in case the Minister might want to get off the hook, she of course was not in the House for that debate. The Minister of State, Deputy Devins, was in the hot seat to respond. The Minister was in the House on 31 January 2008, however, when I tabled a priority question to her on the plight of patients who suffer from cystic fibrosis. The stature of this House is undermined by the freedom Ministers believe they possess to mislead Members and the general public. This is a House to which Ministers are democratically accountable under our Constitution. The Minister for Health and Children and a succession of Fianna Fáil-led Governments have undermined the House and its workings and the concept of constitutional accountability.

In the context of cystic fibrosis sufferers, they believe they can freely tell lies to get out whatever embarrassments they encounter. I expressly refer to an exchange I had with the Minister on 31 January 2008. I asked her the new services she proposed to provide to adults and children suffering from cystic fibrosis, including the lung transplant unit, and pointed out the need to encourage people to carry organ donation cards. Her response, while largely general in nature, dealt specifically with St. Vincent's hospital, in which regard she stated:

The HSE is currently fast-tracking the redevelopment of a ward which is adjacent to the main cystic fibrosis treatment area. The project is to commence within the next few weeks and will provide six single rooms. On completion, additional work will begin to provide a further eight single rooms. This will result in a total of 14 single rooms for cystic fibrosis patients by the end of the summer [of 2008].

That was a clear statement of the Government's intent for what were to be temporary facilities. She went on to state:

In the longer term, a new ward block is to be built, which will include 120 replacement beds in single en suite accommodation, including accommodation for cystic fibrosis patients. Planning permission has been obtained, financial provision has been included in the HSE capital plan and the contract is to be awarded this year. It will be a condition of the contract that the design build period is to be not more than 24 months from the date of contract award.

I questioned the Minister on the timeframe and she confirmed her earlier response by stating:

I can certainly acknowledge that the facilities we have in place are not what they should be. However, I equally acknowledge, as have many of the families and the organisation, that the services have greatly improved, particularly with regard to the employment of clinical expertise...

The measures being taken at St. Vincent's Hospital, which will be completed by the end of the summer, are only temporary. It was the hospital's wish that the cystic fibrosis facilities would be part of the 120-bed facility to be built there. For many reasons, the hospital did not believe it was appropriate to build a cystic fibrosis unit separate from the 120-bed facility. That is the reason a modular-type facility will be put in place and ready by the end of the summer.

She later reiterated that the contract would be awarded in 2008 and that the facility would be completed within 24 months. I put it to her that it would take three years from the date on which the contract was signed to construct the facility. In other words, it would not be available until 2011. She replied:

No, it will not. The contract will be awarded in 2008 and the facility will be completed in 2010. Nobody has said any different.

How much more explicit can one be?

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