Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I pay tribute also to those in the GP infrastructure across west Cork for the extraordinary work they did. Deputy Collins should have paid tribute to them for the outstanding service that the health service provided in the most difficult of times during a pandemic. It is easy to be condemning all of the time.

During August, I was very well aware of the Bantry situation. Deputy Christopher O’Sullivan contacted me on a daily basis. What had transpired was no surprise to anybody, in terms of personnel issues rather than policy. The Deputy would know that if he had bothered to ring the hospital or the HSE. They would have explained it to him. I believe they eventually spoke to the Deputy about this. Resources have been provided for Bantry General Hospital. There has been continued consistent investment in the hospital. The Minister for Health engaged with the issue. There were personnel issues in terms of availability which were beyond anyone’s control at that particular point in time, but they were dealt with by the HSE in the south west. Bantry hospital continues to play a very significant role for the entire hinterland because of the extent of west Cork right down to the Kerry border, to Castletownbere and so on. I have always been a strong supporter of and advocate for Bantry hospital. In my time as Minister for Health, we secured significant investment for that hospital and its identification as a unique type of hospital given its location and its need to service a very large rural hinterland.

The ambulance service is a national one, as the Deputy is aware. We will continue to work on any improvements that can be made to ensure provision of supply.

The Minister will be producing an action plan in respect of waiting lists both from now until the end of the year and right through to 2022. This is an enormous challenge because of the fact that we have had two lockdowns since March 2020 which impacted on the capacity of the acute system to get operations done. That is no surprise to anyone. Those challenges added to a list that had built up in the previous number of years. There will be an all-out effort, in the first instance, to reduce waiting times for people in respect of acute hospitals. Significant progress has been made on assessment of need; for example, in the past 12 months there has been a dramatic reduction by 91% in the number of children waiting for their assessments to be completed. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, did great work there. I know she will happily work with CoAction on any issues that it has. I have also been a long-term advocate for and supporter of CoAction down through the years.

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