Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister, the Department of Health and all the people in the HSE, those in our nursing homes and all healthcare people who have worked so hard over the past three months in dealing with the issues.

My query to the Minister is about the taking charge of private hospitals, which was the right decision at the time, whereby we have access to more than 2,000 beds that were not in the public healthcare sector. I live less than half a mile from one of the biggest of those private hospitals, the Bon Secours Hospital Cork. There is a view, communicated to me through much correspondence, that there is underutilisation of many of these facilities.

I know that a decision is to be taken in the next few days about extending that beyond the end of June. Will the Minister clarify how we can make more efficient use of those facilities over the next four weeks? If we wish to retain all or some of those facilities after 30 June, can we put in place a process which will allow some people back into providing the care that they were providing? I have a case of an 11 year old boy with autism. It is an intellectual disability and he is non-verbal. He needs urgent care. He had a programme of care but that stopped because the consultant he was under did not sign the category A contract. Will the Minister provide some clarification on that? Will a decision be made on this matter in the next few days? If so, can we get an indication of how we can progress making more efficient use of those 2,000 beds?

See this speech in context