Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Deputy John O'Mahony. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing this debate and I thank the Minister of State for being here. The patient transport scheme enables those on the west coast who cannot access dialysis or cancer care appointments to get to their hospital appointment. It affects 456 patients from Donegal to the Galway border, 125 of whom are dialysis patients in Mayo, Galway and Roscommon and a further 73 of whom use the service to access cancer treatment generally in the regional hospital in Galway.

People in need of dialysis or cancer treatment are at their lowest ebb and should not need to worry about transport. It may be difficult for those living in an urban or city environment to imagine that we need this service. However, when one lives 100 miles or 150 miles from a hospital or treatment centre, when one does not have access to a car, a neighbour or family member to provide assistance, one needs such a service. One should not need to worry about how to get treatment at such a stage of one's life.

There are many operators on the west coast who give ceaselessly and selflessly to the service. I imagine most of these do not make much profit given the service they provide. Deputy Mulherin is in the House and I cannot let the occasion pass without acknowledging her late father who operated this service wonderfully for many years. The fact that Deputy O'Mahony and I are sharing time shows that we are keen to do this on a cross-party non-partisan basis to try to get a resolution to a letter that issued on Friday to Mayo General Hospital and Roscommon County Hospital that the service for dialysis and cancer patients would cease as of 1 July.

I understand at the HSE Regional Health Forum, West meeting today an indication was given that work is under way to try to resolve this. I call on the Minister of State, who has an interest in this issue, to intervene to ensure that urgent clarity is given to the effect that the service will continue beyond 1 July. The 456 people to whom I referred tonight wonder how they will get their dialysis or cancer treatment after 1 July. We should not allow these people to worry beyond tomorrow.

A review is under way into the quality of the service. That review should continue but I call on the Minister of State to allow the service to continue until the review is complete. Many options could be examined collectively in terms of co-operative transport, rural transport and schemes similar to the Irish Cancer Society scheme.

At issue is a relatively small amount of money. A sum of €500,000 could resolve the issue for this year. Let us consider that in the jobs initiative there remains €200 million underspending from the money being raised through the pension levy. One operator informed me yesterday that he will lay off five people if this decision goes ahead. Lord knows how many people along the west coast will be laid off. Surely, we could take a little of the underspending to save these jobs and, more importantly, give comfort to these people at a low ebb in their life.

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