Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Since the Minister came up with what I can only describe as her disgraceful co-location programme, every time we have raised the shortage of acute hospital beds, she has continually referred to this co-location programme proposition as the means to free up additional public beds in our public hospitals currently occupied by private patients. Does she recall that when we first engaged on this issue she indicated that 1,000 additional beds would be so created across the public health system? Does she further recall that when I challenged her in this Chamber in 2007 to indicate the number of beds that would be involved at each co-located hospital, she said she was not in a position to give an answer. That was her reply. Is it the case that two years on from that exchange between us in the Dáil that day, not a single square metre of concrete has been poured and as a consequence, not a single further public bed has been created by this project that the Minister holds so dear?

Will the Minister agree to call an end to what I can only describe as a very expensive farce on her part? Will she admit that this never had anything to do with the creation of further public beds but was all about creating further opportunity for those who see health care as a means for creating profit? How can the Minister justify continuing with this collocation programme when we see a disgraceful situation where children are being denied access to the beds and resources they need to protect their interests, while patients are in Crumlin's hospital for children which only recently highlighted once again-----

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