Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach has spectacularly failed to answer the question I asked. What I take from that is that his hard answer is "No" and that he will leave office in December 2022, in 14 months, without that promise to the people of the south east being kept. Other promises in the programme for Government are being kept, despite the incredible challenges of Covid but if the Taoiseach's promise on 24/7 cardiac care for the south east is not kept then politics in this country is broken, frankly. There are huge swaths of the country that feel unrepresented by the current Cork-Dublin Cabinet. Reasonable and necessary things, life-saving things like 24/7 cardiac care in the south east, are not being delivered and cannot get done. The Taoiseach is halfway into his term at this stage but he still has time if he decides to take action. His legacy and possibly that of his party in the south east will be the promises made on the cardiac issue to stoke up political support and whether the Taoiseach is a man of his word and will deliver on them.

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