Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the people from Portlaoise and Roscommon some of whom are in the Gallery and more of whom are outside protesting. I heard a Government Deputy describe one of them as a political thug. I was outside with him on a few occasions this afternoon and this evening and I did not see any political thuggery. The protest was noisy but was certainly good humoured. People were there to make a point and if we do not allow that in our democracy, we are on the road to nothing.

Sinn Féin believes it is essential that emergency services are retained in regional hospitals. We are all aware that there are serious threats to Portlaoise hospital because of the crisis with NCHDs. Following the meeting with the Minister for Health on Monday - I welcome that he met us quickly - it could be said that there appears to be a slightly more optimistic outlook for the moment. As the Minister has said that he does not want to see a closure and reduction in emergency services in Portlaoise, we appear to have a stay of execution. Sinn Féin will be supporting the emergency legislation on Thursday to facilitate the registration of new junior doctors in the State. These doctors are badly needed to alleviate a crisis, but it is just short-term crisis management.

In the medium term, the Minister may be trying to say that things will be resolved at Portlaoise hospital, but this does not take from the serious concerns for the long-term future of regional hospitals in general. If Portlaoise is to continue as a major regional hospital, there needs to be a significant increase in the hospital's budget as well as the number of consultants attached to it. This was confirmed by senior Department of Health officials when we met them on Monday. The hospital cannot continue to operate on a budget of only €42 million. It is a hospital that provides major services, including maternity, paediatric, medical and psychiatric service, and a very busy accident and emergency unit that served more than 41,000 patients last year. Some of the services need to be upgraded, not ended. In particular, the maternity and accident and emergency units in Portlaoise are operating under severe pressure.

On Sunday more than 5,000 people turned out in Portlaoise to protest against the original plans to downgrade the hospital. I welcome the HSE statement following those protests that it will be able to maintain 24-hour emergency services from 11 July pending the remaining number of junior doctor posts being filled. However, following yesterday's meeting of the Dublin mid-Leinster regional health forum, a Fine Gael member of the forum stated that the position for accident and emergency services and acute surgery is only secured for six months.

I commend the 5,000 people who came out to show their support for the retention of hospital services in their town, but I also want commitment from the Government that at some point down the road it will not suddenly decide to end certain services there because it reckons it is cheaper to do that than to address a health system that is broken. I heard my constituency colleague, Deputy Charles Flanagan, say on Midlands 103 radio that the HSE must tackle the lack of trust people have in the organisation. Does he not realise that his party colleague, the Minister, Deputy Reilly, now has his hands on the reins and that his party and Labour now control the health service directly? The Minister stood down the board of the HSE and has told us that he and his Department officials now run the health services, so this is a red herring. I welcome that the board has been stood down but the Minister needs to introduce the necessary reforms.

The Minister is asking the people to trust the HSE days after this same organisation failed to co-ordinate air transport for Meadhbh McGivern on Saturday night in order that she could have the long-awaited liver transplant she needs. That did not happen ten years ago; it happened last weekend. These are life and death matters and we are placing them in the hands of the HSE. Deputy Charles Flanagan said that before he was in government he regarded the HSE as dysfunctional, and went on to say that nothing has changed since his party went into government. I agree with him on those two matters. However, Deputy Flanagan's party and Labour are now in Government and it is his Government's responsibility to create trust by fixing the health service.

Only a couple of weeks ago, it was being reported that outpatient clinics in Portlaoise hospital would not be in operation for July and August with the exception of maternity and the warfarin clinic, with corresponding reductions in accident and emergency services, and at that point the HSE was apparently in talks to put together a contingency plan, but no public decision had been made on what has to be done. If it has been made, we have not been made aware of it. I ask the Minister when exactly we will see a health service that does not continually operate on the basis of lurching from one crisis to another.

Health care is a fundamental human right. If this Government had the capacity and the political will to manage the economy effectively and fairly, it would realise it is a right for everyone. Giving people equal access to proper health services and tackling the social and economic inequalities that lead to poor health for many would go a large way to saving money in the long term. I ask the other Members of the House to support the motion.

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