Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the work that has been done by Deputy Cullinane on this matter. The Deputy and I have been in the Dáil together for many years. I have heard him advocate consistently for this. I appreciate his reference also to Deputy Butler who has advocated and fought very hard on the matter too, as have all the Waterford Deputies. Indeed, we have a new Deputy in this Dáil who has also fought hard on this issue. When I was made health spokesperson for Fianna Fáil, one of the first things I was asked to do by Deputy Butler was to meet our new Deputy from Waterford, Deputy Shanahan, and the cardiologists. The cardiologists came to Leinster House to meet us and to lay out the case. They made a very strong case. They said to me at the time that the focus was on 24-7 care, which is incredibly important and is the goal. To do that, they said they needed a second cath lab. They asked that this was where we put our focus. They said that without the second cath lab it could not be done. They pointed out that in the absence of 24-7 care and a second lab, scheduled cardiology appointments were being cancelled due to other emergencies such as heart attacks. It was causing consternation because the scheduled work could not be achieved. They asked first and foremost to please get them the second cath lab. That is a commitment in the programme for Government. It is being committed to. I am happy to commit to it. It is a commitment of the Government. Now we need to figure out exactly what else is required - how many cardiologists are required, how many technicians are required, what other support staff are needed, and what linkages are needed between the various hospitals. The goal is 24-7 care. The first and critical big step is the cath lab. If the Deputy does not mind - this is literally my second day in the job - I want to sit down with the HSE to understand the steps that are required. I would very much like to meet the Deputy and the other Waterford Deputies to discuss how we progress it. It is a really important issue for the region.

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