Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for taking this issue so promptly. The closure of the facility at Shaen is a double whammy for County Laois. It is a devastating blow, coming as it does less than two weeks after the announcement of the closure of a similar facility at Abbeyleix, only 14 or 15 miles down the road. It is a black day for the health services in County Laois and the midlands in general. The only public nursing home in the county that is not under threat, in Mountmellick, already has closed wards. The proposed closure of the facilities at Abbeyleix and Shaen removes 70 out of the 200 public nursing home beds in the county at a time when there is an increasing demand.

In the past week I have tried to access services for someone in need of such a bed. This is happening under the Minister's watch. I heard him say that that he would grab the reins of the health services and would not allow the HSE to continue to flounder along. In the eight months since coming to power, the Minister has set about the destruction of public nursing home facilities in the county in which I live. During previous recessions these fine facilities in Shaen and Abbeyleix were kept open. However, the difference now is that the two parties in government are continuing with the disastrous policies of the previous Government-----

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