Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

While I do not have as much speaking time as I would like, I thank the Minister for coming to visit South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel. The Minister made great promises as to what he would do with the HSE and while he has removed the board, little other change has taken place, although I do not blame him for all of that as he inherited many of the problems.

I ask the Minister to give a commitment that the reconfiguration of South Tipperary General Hospital has been abandoned. Thankfully, the hospital has a full complement of staff, unlike some other hospitals where shortage of staff or inability to get staff is being blamed. I note that a team of accountants is involved and that this is the only hospital in the country being singled out in this way. It is an attack by the HSE on the services provided by South Tipperary General Hospital and it is being carried out under the Minister's watch but I will take him at his word. Clonmel is the base for a large number of high technology and pharmaceutical industries and it has an extensive catchment area. We saw what happened to north Tipperary when Nenagh hospital closed and transferred to Limerick. Patients and staff are frightened by what they see happening elsewhere. Any man is as good as his word and I will await the fulfilment of the Minister's commitment.

We are being blackguarded with our acute psychiatric hospital, which the HSE wants to close. The Hillery report revealed that the HSE and health board officials mismanaged the situation and rode roughshod over staff, consultants and everybody else. We are not opposed to A Vision for Change but we cannot be accused of saying we do not need acute psychiatric beds in the case of psychotic attacks and everything else. The psychiatric unit is located on the campus of the general hospital. These services have to be maintained.

I ask the Minister to speak to his Minister of State, who made a fly-by-night visit to the hospital. I welcome the fact that she visited it but she ran in and ran out when we demanded that she come to see the problems for herself. I ask that a deputation of Oireachtas Members from south Tipperary be facilitated in meeting her because she is avoiding the issue and will not meet us. It is a far cry from where she stood in the last Dáil. I supported her on many issues in committee and elsewhere. As the elected representatives of the area, we need to know what is happening.

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