Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

This means that there will be changes from time to time in the way in which services are provided in individual hospitals. It also means that there will be changes in the context of the procedures that will be performed in certain hospitals and not in others. In turn, this will mean that there will be implications in respect of the wards that will be used, the number of beds that will be open in particular units, and so on.

We must consider the overall level of service. Yesterday, the Cabinet sub-committee on health examined the question of how the best service can be provided to patients in a way that is cost-effective and that is capable of being managed as efficiently as possible. This matter must be addressed by the management in individual hospitals, including that at James Connolly Hospital which, as the Deputy indicated, is a fine facility that provides very good services. To represent the situation as though there is some kind of Government agenda with regard to closing down hospitals and hospital services is incorrect. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Government is seeking to ensure that patients are provided with the best possible hospital and health services within the limited resources available.

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