Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the issue of the ongoing delay in establishing the CervicalCheck tribunal. The 221 Plus CervicalCheck patient support group is concerned about the delay in establishing the tribunal. Its establishment by the Minister for Health was delayed due to the Covid-19 lockdown. The support group knows the Department of Health is working on a plan to reschedule its establishment but is anxious to get some clarity as to when exactly that will happen. Will the Minister give an update on the establishment of the tribunal and an idea of when it will be formed?

I am going to get a bit parochial with the next couple of issues I am going to raise. There are serious concerns among locals regarding the Department's plan for St. Brigid's hospital, Carrick-on-Suir, and when it will revert to its pre-Covid-19 role as a community palliative care and respite service hospital. It was designated as a step-down care facility for Covid patients but has been empty now for several weeks and the staff have been redeployed. I already raised this issue with the Minister on 20 May but did not receive confirmation as to when St. Brigid's will re-open. This hospital not only covers south Tipperary but also south Kilkenny and north Waterford. Will the Minister clarify when St. Brigid's will be reopened as a community hospital?

I want to raise the issue of the underutilisation of the primary care centre in Carrick-on-Suir, which opened in 2018 but has several empty rooms at present.

In my home town, Cashel, there are ongoing concerns with the Government's plan for Our Lady's Hospital. Again, I raised this with the Minister on 20 May. He confirmed that patients from St. Patrick's Hospital were moving to Our Lady's on an interim basis. The closure of the hospital in 2007 was a huge loss to the region and has increased pressure on Clonmel general hospital. Will the Minister confirm the long-term plans for both Our Lady's and St. Patrick's hospitals in Cashel and make a statement to that effect?

St. Michael's mental health unit in Clonmel is another area of concern, which I have already raised with the Department. Tipperary has a lack of dedicated mental health services. Last September, there was a protest in Clonmel over the lack of mental health beds in Tipperary. I reiterate the call for the reopening of a dedicated mental health unit in Clonmel. A county the size of Tipperary having no full-time mental health services is crazy and unfair. Will the Minister confirm that, following the recent refurbishment of St. Michael's, it will be reopened as a dedicated mental health service after the Covid crisis?

University Hospital Limerick has consistently had one of highest levels of overcrowding, an issue which will return post Covid if nothing is done. A solution for this for both the people of north Tipperary and Limerick would be the restoration of full emergency department services in Nenagh hospital. This would reduce the pressure on Limerick, while providing the people in north Tipperary with emergency department services in their own area. Opening field hospitals cannot be accepted as a long-term solution to overcrowding in Limerick. What plans are in place to address the problems of overcrowding in Limerick emergency department post Covid-19? Will he commit to the restoration of emergency department services in Nenagh?

It does not entirely come under the Minister's brief but the opening of playgrounds so soon will create problems that will affect each county council. The Minister made the point earlier of only meeting people when it is important to do so. In Cashel, there is a new playground with 150 youngsters running around it. I do not believe that is important at this stage. If the virus spreads in these settings, who will be responsible? There is a major health risk with the actions of opening them up so soon. It is unfair on councils to speed it up like the Government has done and be unclear as to who will supervise the openings. Will the Minister make it clear who will be responsible if a child or a parent contracts the virus under the circumstances?

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