Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I will accept that mistakes were made. The Minister used to be on the other side of the House in opposition and representing a special-interest group. He ratcheted it up well and good when he was representing the IMO and the GPs and when dealing with the medical cards for those over 70. I have no doubt he would have been outside the gates had the deal not been done. The Minister should accept there were many other actors on stage and that he was a significant one. He is now a significant actor on the other side of the House. He should accept that he now has responsibility in this regard.

During the course of the reconfiguration process in County Clare, representatives of Fine Gael and the Labour Party hijacked the airwaves and played politics. They stated that if the accident and emergency units were closed at night, 20 people would die. I want them to stand over these statements. The closures were brought about to protect patients. Having centres of excellence was all about ensuring patient safety. It was a question of having no staging process on the way to tertiary care. I got it in the neck from Fine Gael backbenchers at the time of the reconfiguration; they talked about people dying. I encourage Members to follow through regarding the representatives in their parties who set up the hijacking process and suggested 20 people would die. We should be told if 20 people are dying each year and what will be done about it. Will the representatives accept that what they said at the time was wrong? Little credit was given to us for doing what we did.

I want the Minister to answer some of the questions that have been raised tonight. Perhaps he will have an opportunity to do so when summing up.

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