Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is clear that the upgrading of emergency departments in Wexford and Kilkenny is necessary and welcome. The issue is that they were fast-tracked ahead of other necessary projects by the Minister, Deputy James Reilly, at the behest of his Cabinet colleagues Deputy Brendan Howlin and Deputy Phil Hogan. That is the information with which we have been provided through a freedom of information request by RTE. In early June 2011, both Deputies announced the capital projects for the upgrading of Wexford General Hospital and St. Luke's General Hospital in Kilkenny. This was prior to the HSE board meeting of 9 June 2011, the minutes of which report the reaction of Mr. Brian Gilroy, which I place on the record of the House as follows:

In view of the announcements by the Minister for Public Expenditure and the Minister for the Environment in relation to capital projects in St. Luke's Hospital Kilkenny and Wexford General Hospital, revisions to the capital plan may be required. B. Gilroy will consult the Department of Health and Children and report on this matter at the next meeting.

Mr. Gilroy then had to write to the Department of Health to confirm the situation as announced by two Ministers with no connection to Deputy James Reilly's portfolio responsibilities. On 14 July 2011, the Department of Health confirmed that the Minister, Deputy James Reilly, had requested that the projects "be accelerated in the HSE's capital programme". This is not the language of Opposition Deputies; it is what the record shows. It is most regrettable because it exposes Cabinet cronyism. It is not wrong to use the phrase. Other hospital sites which are equally deserving are not getting this treatment. We must ask if the future of acute hospital care in a particular location is determined on the basis of whether a constituency representative is a Minister.

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