Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I can only add to what Deputy Mac Lochlainn said. It smacks of arrogance that the Minister, for two weeks in a row, has decided not to come before the Dáil and listen to what Deputy Mac Lochlainn and I have to say. It is not arrogance towards me or the Deputy. It is to the people of Donegal. It is to the people who tomorrow morning will still be in chairs or on trolleys in the accident and emergency department in Letterkenny. It is the people who have received notification over the past while that their treatment is being postponed once again. It is the people who are wondering if they will ever get the appointment they need to see the consultant to deal with an ailment that could have serious impacts on their health. It is those people that the Minister has affronted tonight. As Deputy Mac Lochlainn said, there are serious with Letterkenny University Hospital. We have both been on our feet over the years explaining to Government after Government that there is a serious systemic issue with that hospital. Deputy Mac Lochlainn pointed out, as he has regularly, that Letterkenny University Hospital is one of the busiest in terms of inpatients. It is the sixth busiest in the State, yet in terms of funding we are the 12th. There is discrimination at the heart of this. We have said, time and again, that this hospital is being kept together with elastic bands and the goodwill of the staff but, bit by bit, they are snapping. They are snapping to the point where 78 GPs across the county had to come together and tell the Minister clearly that there are serious issues and there could be service collapse. Some 11 of the consultants have stood out and put their names to the letter and said there are serious issues. Still, as we stand here, unless the Minister of State tells us differently, we still do not know, weeks on, whether the Minister will come to Donegal and listen to those front-line health professionals. We have serious issues. We had a situation last week where no ambulance was available anywhere in the county because they were all parked at Letterkenny University Hospital and could not offload patients. There are serious issues. These issues are not just about inconvenience to people. As the doctors pointed out, when there is a delay in treatment, it causes adverse health effects, including death.

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