Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want the Minister to say the magic words that the future of the accident and emergency services are guaranteed in Portlaoise. I welcome all of the progress but the concern is a possible downgrade. We see the situation in Limerick and what happens when emergency departments are closed, as happened in Ennis and Nenagh. The problem is pushed on and is made worse, and it was made worse in Limerick. We do not want this happening in Laois.

The Minister is right about the networks and we agree with him on that . The networking that happened with the grouping of the hospitals is good and it has worked very well in maternity. All of the figures show that and the patients are telling us that, as well as the staff. I acknowledge the work of the staff and management, particularly Michael Knowles, the manager, for pushing for some of these improvements and capital investment. He has been instrumental in this regard.

We all agree there is not enough capacity in the system across the country. Portlaoise is very busy and we need to maintain the level of care that we have. It is not a parochial argument. I know we cannot have everything at every crossroads but this is a significant regional hospital and is the second-busiest accident and emergency unit outside Dublin. Along with welcoming all that has happened, which is good, I would love to have a statement from the Government that this is here to stay. That is what we want to hear.

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