Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Reilly for bringing forward this Private Members' motion on this critical subject, the cutbacks at Our Lady's children's hospital, Crumlin. Last month, a 25-bed ward was closed at Our Lady's children's hospital which has led to much-needed procedures being cut. There will also be reductions in outpatient clinics in August and in future months, which will cause severe disruption to services. This will naturally lead to longer waiting times for children who need urgent surgery. These cutbacks have resulted in the withdrawal of essential treatment for critically ill children and there has been an unacceptable increase in cancelled operations. The hospital is likely to see further ward and theatre closures which will see a reduction of outpatient appointments by 15% or 8,483 attendances and 1,100 admissions in 2009. In addition, the National Treatment Purchase Fund is not funding urgent cases and surgery for children experiencing acute pain and suffering, in spite of assurances given by the Minister for Health and Children on 21 May 2009.

The 3% cutback across the board by the HSE is causing great misery to the various children and families affected and takes no account of the fact of the increased costs to the hospital of new technologies, the transfer of orthopaedic services from Cork to Crumlin, the increase in the birth rate over the past number of years and the fact that savings can be made elsewhere in the HSE budget.

Our Lady's hospital, Crumlin is operating on a funding shortfall of €9 million. As a result of this shortfall, 25 beds and a theatre were closed last month and this has caused pain and suffering for children. This amount of money is small change in a total health budget of €15 billion.

Fine Gael calls on the Government to put children first and immediately reverse this thoughtless decision of reducing the hospital's budget by €9.1 million and so alleviate the needless pain and suffering of hundreds of children. I ask all Deputies in the House to support this very reasonable motion from Deputy Reilly. There is no reason the Minister could not issue a directive to that hospital and other hospitals to ensure that the cutbacks do not take place on the frontline but rather in the back office. It is frightening to read that the management of Our Lady's hospital in Crumlin will be unable to guarantee that urgent surgery and procedures will be treated. This realises the worst fears of parents and children.

I refer to the amount of wastage in the health service including the money wasted on public relations. Professor Brendan Drumm receives a salary of more than €500,000 which is huge money. There must be savings in salaries paid to the top people who are creaming the system. Funding must be directed towards children.

Jamie Murphy is a child who was forced to travel to London for immediate surgery because she could not receive it at Crumlin. She is just one of many children who continue to wait on waiting lists. This is unacceptable. A total of €5 million has been wasted in salaries for officers to work in a new children's hospital which does not exist. This money would have been better used in Crumlin and such funding should happen as a matter of urgency.

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