Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be happy to deal with issues the Deputy has in due course. The Minister and Taoiseach, who was then Leader of the Opposition, visited County Clare and made firm commitments regarding the delivery of health services in the county. The Taoiseach talked about the retention of medical and cardiac services at Ennis General Hospital but, in recent weeks, the HSE recognised that they will not be maintained. The best the Minister has been able to do is provide two local Fine Gael Deputies with a firm letter saying no decision has yet been taken while our Labour Party constituency colleague has said he is aware that the medical services the Taoiseach promised would be retained will be taken from Ennis General Hospital and the cardiac services that have been part of the service delivery mix will be taken in due course, although not immediately.

What has changed significantly in the delivery of health services that requires the Minister to change the position he adopted prior to the election? As far as I am concerned, two things have changed. First, he has become Minister and the Leader of the Opposition is now the Taoiseach and, second, the HSE has been abolished by him. An effort is still being made by his backbenchers when they go on local radio and comment in the local newspaper to suggest the big, bad HSE is responsibility for all of this. My colleague has outlined the position the Minister took and it is well known he forced out the chief executive officer of the HSE because he did not like what he was saying. He got rid of the corporate governance that existed, including the independent board and chairperson, giving himself effective control. It is hardly then fair that he should dump on the front-line managers and staff delivering our health services and suggest that they are foisting these dreadful decisions on the people at large.

I was part of an Administration that had to accept that services at Ennis hospital had to be moved through the reconfiguration process.

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