David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not for one moment doubt the sincerity of the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, on this issue but I do doubt the commitment from the Government to deliver for the people of the south east. It is not good enough that we are again being subjected to second best, second class services, with patients having to travel. When one strips everything away and takes all of us in the Chamber out of the equation, this is about 500,000 people who live in the south east. They want to be treated the same as everybody else. The reality is that across the south east we do not have access to emergency out-of-hours cardiac services, and that will continue unless the Government changes its mind.

The mobile labaratory is welcome, in so far as it will reduce waiting times. However, it should not be presented as some sort of solution to the problem. The consultants in Waterford and elsewhere in the region are not living in a post-Herity world and do not accept the Herity report. They are as resolute today as they were before the report was published. They argue that the terms of reference were flawed and the outcome was not good for the patients of the south east. They, along with all of us, want 24-7 emergency cardiac care for the people of the south east.

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