Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

St. Joseph's Hospital, for example, is a listed Georgian building over 150 years old and provides accommodation on two floors for 23 people, 19 of whom are in long-term residence, with four respite beds. Older people require an attachment to a locality and a building because it is their home while they are in residence. In 2012, is it right to continue to provide services in a listed building that is 150 years old and beyond the planning conditions for development in many cases? We cannot close any of these without adequate consultation and notice from the HSE. I know Deputy Adams has a copy of a leaked plan and that he was on Louth FM this morning about this issue.

We must face reality. At the Cabinet sub-committee dealing with health, I met regional directors of operations, RDOs, and managers, all of whom have signed off on plans for the continued delivery of the best services despite the fact that significant numbers of people have decided to leave the health service as part of the programme.

See this speech in context