Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for that. She said, "The HSE has given assurance that no decision has been made on the redesign of the operating model for those areas, and no decision will be made without the active involvement of relevant stakeholders." It is fine that there are no plans. However, this is the document I am concerned about. This is the consultation document that the HSE has put out there. One of the options is to locate Carrick-on-Shannon under Sligo Caredoc. The options cover three phases and this is right up there in phase 1, which means we can be sure that this is an important part of what the HSE is considering.

I am concerned that we may end up at the point where the service is not designed to suit the people but is designed the other way around and the people have to travel long distances to access healthcare to suit the service. Any service needs to consider settlement patterns, especially where there is dispersed population. That needs to be taken into consideration when designing services. This option is the very opposite. The Minister of State can understand that people are concerned when they see this. It is not a plan or a decision right now.

The purpose of my contribution is to try to impress on the Minister of State and the decision-makers that it must not become a plan or decision. Too often, we read lovely words about streamlining, consolidating, centralising and redesigning. Those are lovely words that at the end of the day often mean a reduction in services. I would not like that and do not want to see it happen.

See this speech in context