Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There is a palpable sense of relief in Wexford this morning. What could yesterday evening have become an historic tragedy was averted by the calm, dedicated professionalism of the emergency services in Wexford. Our fire brigade, local authority staff, Civil Defence, ambulance services, hospital staff and management, the voluntary sector and, indeed, private ambulance operators all immediately rallied to the cause supported magnificently by the entire health community. All are due remarkable praise for an outstanding response.

The emergency plan that the Tánaiste has indicated was activated and, more importantly, worked and now, I understand, has been stood down.

Understandably, the focus now moves to dealing with the consequences of this terrible fire. Two hundred and twenty-one patients were in Wexford hospital yesterday evening. Over 180 have now been dislodged to hospitals from Waterford to Navan. The challenge now is how we are to continue with their care plans in a seamless and uninterrupted way ensuring their medical charts are available and that their families are kept fully informed of their medical progress.

Clear information has to be provided for the 165,000 people of Wexford who depend on their hospital for vital services. Expectant mothers are looking forward to delivering yellow bellies in their hospital. What is to happen? What arrangements are made for them? There are patients in the middle of treatment for cancer or for any number of life-threatening illnesses. Of course, the people of Wexford will continue to experience, today, tomorrow and the day after, heart attacks, road traffic accidents and other urgent issues that require timely medical responses.

Responding to this, as the Tánaiste says, will be enormously challenging. The crisis management team has been in session in the hospital since early morning and we will learn further of its plans today.

For the Government, the requirement is to act with the same speed and determination as the emergency services did and with the same clarity in its response. The asks I put to the Tánaiste today are to commit, on behalf of the Government, to provide whatever resources are needed to bring Wexford Hospital back into use - that means temporary provision plant equipment to get services up and running in those parts of the hospital that can be brought immediately back into use and the immediate sanctioning of the resources for construction and replacement of the damaged infrastructure; the deployment of whatever ambulance resources are needed, including emergency medical technicians, EMTs, and vehicles to ensure that there is a timely medical response in the county; and to commit to the fast-tracking of the long-promised 96-bed unit that officially is still awaiting a strategic assessment report - that must happen urgently.

The community rallied to this tragedy. We must do the same. Wexford, as I say, has responded magnificently to this destructive event. I am asking for the same determined, clear and unequivocal response from the Government.

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