Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

Before and after the general election, the Taoiseach and the Government parties made strong commitments to cystic fibrosis sufferers and their families that they would deliver the new 100-bed special unit at St. Vincent's Hospital, which would include 34 beds for cystic fibrosis sufferers. On 8 April of last year, the Taoiseach made a speech at the AGM of the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland at which he said: "But I can tell to you that the new Unit in St. Vincent's Hospital is on track, on time, on budget and it is my intention to make sure it remains that way." He also said: "You and your families have waited far too long for this project to open. It can never be forgotten that cystic fibrosis patients are fighting for their lives... you don't have time for broken promises."

In February of this year, the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, said the unit would not open until June and in April, he said he could not commit to the 34 beds and that he was reducing it to a 20-bed minimum and a 34-bed maximum. A protocol was agreed between the HSE, consultants and the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland on how to do this but, since then, the manager of St. Vincent's hospital has refused to sign off on it. Obviously, the unit remains unopened.

As someone who has been strongly associated with the issue, will the Taoiseach intervene directly in this matter to ensure the cystic fibrosis patients and their families are given a clear commitment as to when the new unit will open and that St. Vincent's hospital management signs off on the protocol so that people have access to the 34 beds? Will he also assure me that, given the reports in today's The Irish Times about the HSE being written to by the Department of Health, telling it to make savings in the face of the current budget crisis in the HSE through delaying projects or taking any opportunity to reallocate resources, the delay being faced by the cystic fibrosis unit is not as a result of budget cuts or pressure on the health service to make cutbacks or defer projects?

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