Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I reiterate that the Minister of State's work on this issue has been upfront and he has met us frequently. However, I am not reassured by what he has said. I sat at a meeting with an official who said a decision had been taken in the review to close the unit but, as the Minister of State correctly stated, the HSE has asked a psychiatrist or psychologist to examine the matter independently. The reality is that the unit is finished. The Minister of State stated patients' needs would be better met in a more suitable regime. I totally disagree with that. The residents have been well looked after, they trust the staff and are close to their families. This process is interfering with their happiness and making them unhappy. I have serious issues with the way these assessments are done, and I do not like what is happening.

When the Taoiseach was Minister for Health he gave a commitment that this unit would not be closed, and I have a letter to that effect. I ask the Minister of State to honour that commitment. If some changes have to be made at the centre, so be it, but I beg him not to allow the patients to be taken out of the unit. I ask him to use whatever power and influence he has to ensure that does not happen.

See this speech in context