Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I accept the Minister of State’s reply, regrettably the frustration for the parents and the families in question is that the post, which was advertised, has not been filled. Whatever way we look at it, it looks like it will not be filled until March 2017. When I said I would raise the issue on behalf of the parents, their only ask of me was if there was any way the post could be filled in 2016. It is my second time asking the question but I am getting the same answer, essentially March 2017.

Will Limerick University Hospital be able to deal with the extra capacity? Listening to what was said last week in the AV room, it would seem the post at that hospital is under pressure. My concern for the family travelling there from Galway is that this is a service available every second week. I appreciate there is a service in Sligo University Hospital and the people in the north west are quite happy with it. However, the people in the west feel isolated and rejected.

It is also important for me to acknowledge the hard work done by the specialist nurse in Galway University Hospital. By all accounts, she seems to be keeping the whole show on the road but she needs a little more support.

I am glad the Minister of State acknowledged what it does to the families in question, namely, a day off work and a day out of school. While we acknowledge all they are doing, it is little comfort to them that nothing will happen before March 2017. Will Limerick University Hospital be able to cater for the needs of those patients from Galway? Is there any way that, if there were a chronic emergency with one of these patients, through IT systems they could be treated at Galway University Hospital?

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