Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)

Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil le foireann iomlán Theach Laighean, na huiséirí, foireann riaracháin agus foireann na bialainne as an fháilte fhlaithiúil agus an tacaíocht a thug siad dom ar mo chéad laethanta sa Dáil. I enjoyed some latitude from the Ceann Comhairle this morning but I did not have time to thank the staff of Leinster House; the ushers, the catering staff, the one stop shop and the administrative staff have given me a very warm welcome and have been very supportive during my initial days in Dáil Éireann. I deeply appreciate their very professional service. I also thank TDs from other parties who have been very supportive to me as a new TD; I appreciate it. I also wish the Minister and the Ministers of State in the Department of Health and Children well in their posts because the public health care system has been laid waste by their predecessors and will need a lot of hard work to restore services to their proper level.

Sligo General Hospital is a special place to me and to those I represent in Sligo-Leitrim. I worked there for many years, all of my children were born there, my mother, Lord rest her, died there and my grandchildren were born there. I saw it grow from a small scale hospital with medical, surgical and maternity services to a hospital that had many specialties and top class clinical specialists. It serves the people of Sligo, Leitrim, west Cavan, south Donegal and north Roscommon. If there was a proper cross-Border health care system, it would also cover Fermanagh.

Until 2009, the hospital provided a consultant-led breast cancer service to women unfortunate enough to develop the condition. It was originally intended by the HSE in all its reports that Sligo General Hospital would be one of the centres of excellence for breast cancer services. The hospital had the required specialist staff and the necessary facilities available and was providing a service that, in measurable terms, reached a standard of excellence which matched or bettered that on offer at any other centre in the country or abroad.

However, in 2009 breast cancer services were withdrawn from Sligo General Hospital and transferred to University College Hospital Galway. Despite massive public protests in Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and at the gates of Leinster House - at which I was in attendance - and the wealth of information and evidence which clearly underlined the quality of the services being provided at Sligo, the previous Minister for Health and Children proceeded with the transfer. She did so with the connivance of the Health Service Executive and its scapegoat, Professor Tom Keane.

The former Minister has now gone on her way and Professor Keane has returned to Canada. However, women in Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and west Cavan who have cancer and their families continue to suffer. It is wrong that someone must spend up to six hours per day, five days per week travelling in order to obtain treatment in Galway. This should not be allowed to happen. In addition, it is scandalous that fine, hard-working staff at Sligo General Hospital are, on occasion, driven to tears as a result of the frustration they feel because they do not have time to provide patients with proper care.

It is not just cancer services which are at issue here. Some 60 orthopaedic beds have been closed at Sligo General Hospital during the past two years. The waiting lists are growing longer. That is scandalous, it is wrong and it should not happen. In the run up to the general election, the Labour Party and Fine Gael promised that cancer services would be restored to Sligo General Hospital. The Labour Party promised that this would be done within 100 days. There were no preconditions offered, the Labour Party stated that this was a red line issue when it came to its participation in Government. The target is 100 days and I am counting.

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