Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for placing on the record the fact that the future of St. Patrick's Hospital in Cashel is safe. I hope nobody will undermine that situation again. It has been stated on the public record that its future is safe.

In regard to the consultation process I ask the Minister of State to ensure the HSE and staff undertake all of it. The members of staff are committed people who have given their lives to the support of the elderly in the community. They have worked long hours through thick and thin and in difficult situations. There is no more committed staff than those in St. Patrick's Hospital in Cashel. I want to ensure the proposal is worked through by the HSE in all its dealings with the staff and the management. Under the management of Mary Prendergast, the hospital has gone from strength to strength.

I urge the Minister of State to ensure the consultation process is right. As he said in his reply, a great deal of taxpayers' money has been spent on St. Mary's Hospital and it cannot be left as it has been for some years. I welcome the fact that there will be activity in that hospital for which I foresee huge potential. We have a situation which is unique to many other areas, despite many warnings throughout the county, where there will be two very active hospitals in the town of Cashel for the foreseeable future. That is welcome. I thank the Minister of State.

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