Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

While the HSE media personnel continues to pump out guarantees, we know what those guarantees have meant in the past. The Pathways rehabilitation centre in Cavan provided tremendous support for those who had strokes and other problems and helped restore many people to full health. We were told it would only be closed until extra staff were appointed to it, but it was never reopened. People now have a totally different and unsatisfactory service.

I plead with the Minister to ensure proper services for patients. These must be provided not for our sake, but for that of patients, who should come first.

Proper structures must be put in place in order to ensure that patients, regardless of whether they come from Malin Head, County Donegal, or wherever, will be able to avail of services and will not be obliged to wait months in order to obtain the treatment they urgently require. If this happens, Fine Gael will have no difficulty supporting the Bill.

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