Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his interesting reply. Some argue that a simple solution to the problem would be to provide more equipment but of course that is extremely expensive. It costs, I think, over €1 million. In these times we will not see too many additional scanners. I am encouraged by what the Minister said about moving on to utilise the service and expanding it. I did not realise we had a shortage of anaesthetists. I would be curious to know why – I am sure the Minister has an answer.

I acknowledge the Minister’s point because the staff say that emergency cases are facilitated and it has a good track record in that area. By good fortune the Minister had his own discussions this morning with these people. Developing the Saturday morning service would go a long way to solving the problem. The National Health Service, NHS, in Britain has many practices that have improved the service including Saturday service. Some hospitals in Scotland did the same. It would encourage parents and staff if the service could be used to its maximum. It is good to hear that it is going in that direction.

See this speech in context