James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

Absolutely. The Deputy opposite is well aware of the financial situation in the country and well aware of the consequences of such for the health budget. He is also well aware of the need for cost-based analysis for our actions. The volume of business in a facility must justify a medical assessment unit. The reply and the report from the initial group indicates this is not the case. The clinical programmes and the acute medicine programme in particular will review this decision and give their opinion free from any influence from me or anybody else. This remains the case and it is the only way it can be. Of course I would like very much to see a medical assessment unit in Monaghan if one were justified but I cannot justify it if the volume of patients would not be such as to make it financially viable when we are so constrained in budgets and there are implications across our health service for every euro we have.

The Deputy opposite belongs to a party that is in another jurisdiction on this island where it is presiding over cuts right, left and centre but when that party is down here, they do not want to see anything being cut. That may be the politics of opposition-----

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