Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The health service has gone through five years of sustained vandalism. The current and previous Governments have gouged €3.3 billion and 9,000 staff out of the health service. As a result, the points of access for citizens into the health service have been severely restricted. In my constituency we have Navan hospital and we have a hospital in Drogheda. So far this year, 7,700 people have been forced onto trolleys by the Government. That is the whole population of the town of Trim, every man, woman and child. The equivalent of that population has been forced onto trolleys in those two hospitals in our region. Being put on a trolley means delayed diagnosis, delayed treatment and poorer outcomes. It can mean significantly deteriorating health or death, yet the small framework document, which is the official policy document of the Government, seeks to close the emergency department in Navan hospital. Will the Minister ensure this document is no longer the policy document for the Government?

Access to hospitals via ambulances has also become more difficult. I know of 40 separate cases where ambulances took at least one hour to come to emergencies in my county in recent years. There were fatalities in seven of those cases. In the past week we heard of the tragic case of a young father, Dualtagh Donnelly.

Access to hospitals via waiting lists has also become more difficult, with 69,000 people on inpatient and day case waiting lists, 401,000 people waiting on outpatient lists, children on painkillers waiting more than six months to access dental treatment, and 3,000 children on waiting lists for mental health services. The backdrop to this is a high and increasing youth suicide rate. At the same time, the Government seeks to close the 24-hour psychiatric unit in Navan. It was supposed to be closed at the beginning of last month but has been pushed out until after the general election. This is despite reduced bed capacity and people being turned away. This is a false economy. If diagnosis and treatment are delayed, hundreds of thousands of people will see their health deteriorate. It will necessitate more crisis interventions, which cost money and clog up acute emergency services.

Under the stewardship of the Minister, the unacceptable has become the normal in this State. I wish to raise with the Minister a petition that has gone before the petitions committee from a constituent of mine in County Meath who believes strongly that water is being contaminated in houses throughout the State. This water is being pushed from pressurised heating systems into the household water and then, through shower units, is leading to respiratory disease among a large section of the population. Will the Minister draw this to the attention of the HSE and have it investigated? Prevention is better than cure.

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