Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Part of the duty and the responsibility of any leader of any party is to enunciate party policy. The party policy in respect of Roscommon hospital was published in the local papers and publicly known before I arrived in Roscommon. The first mention of the situation being unsafe in Roscommon hospital arose in the Mallow report, which as the Deputy is aware was published after the general election.

The position is that were I not to accept the clinical evidence of the independent health regulator and say that everything was fine in Roscommon hospital and in a number of other small hospitals around the country where similar issues arose and something were to happen in that accident and emergency department, I would have neither conscience nor cover. The position is that when it became clear to me and to the Minister for Health that the situation in Roscommon hospital is not as it should be the decision was made to redesign and restructure the services for Roscommon hospital. From that point of view I continued to reiterate Fine Gael Party policy around the country and espoused it in Roscommon the same as anywhere else. It is not by some surreptitious means that a public address and an interview suddenly become known. I reiterated and enunciated our party position, given in good faith at that time in Roscommon-----

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