Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First of all, I have been in situations, as has Deputy O'Keeffe, where services have been suspended for short periods of time. The difficulty is trying to get proper staff. I will, however, take on the Deputy's concerns. To be honest, I am not familiar with Fermoy. I will speak to the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, about the issue. I have taken down a number of the Deputy's points, and also the point which the Ceann Comhairle raised about the five-day service. I am not too sure what happened to the other two days. I will try to find out.

All I can say is that the solution in place at the moment is temporary. I think that has been identified by the Minister and by the HSE. There is a real effort being made to provide a proper service with permanent staff. We all know the pressure which rural GPs in particular are under in respect of staff and services. I am afraid I cannot answer some of the Deputy's direct questions, but I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Daly, to come back to Deputy O'Keeffe on them. As I have said, I am not familiar with the service in the area in question, but I understand where the Deputy is coming from. It can be very upsetting not only for the patient but also for the family when older persons are shunted from one service to another. It can affect them greatly. We must all do our best on this matter. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get staff at the moment. We all understand that. However, that should not be an excuse for not providing people with a proper service. I will relay the Deputy's concerns to the Minister of State and I hope he will return to him. We might have a better outcome to this matter in a few weeks. I take on board the Deputy's concerns and I will take on board what the Ceann Comhairle has said about the five-day service. It could be a seven-day service.

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