Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister of State. I accept that she has been given this information and, in all honesty, she has come here and presented it to the Dáil tonight. However, I have to say that information has gone into the Dáil record tonight that is not true. I ask the Minister of State sincerely to go back to the Department and the HSE and ask them why they gave her false information. She is here as a Minister of this country and she was sent in with false, untrue information. The figures I gave her show that, in January 2019, there were 2,180 patients, and in January 2025, there were zero. How in the name of God could Blackpool be open?

Unfortunately, in the last couple of months, my family and I had to use it, and every time we were sent to Kinsale Road. I and my wife have a car so we are able to look after ourselves, but what about vulnerable people, older people, people with young families and people who do not have access? There is no bus link out to the Kinsale Road. How are people going to get a bus at 12 midnight when even at 9 p.m. they cannot get out to the Kinsale Road? The HSE has sent the Minister of State in here tonight with what I hardly dare to say is lies, but it is very close to it. It is manipulating the words. It is twisting it and turning it.

The Government, the Department of Health and the HSE pay SouthDoc millions, and I am not talking about €1 million or €2 million but millions, and it closed down the SouthDoc Blackpool service. I am looking for an investigation. Who made that decision? Is the tail wagging the dog here? Is SouthDoc telling the Government what it will do? Is that the way it is? The Government is paying it. If it does not want to do its job, can we offer it out for tender to another service provider?

We have a situation here. The Minister of State made a statement about the primary treatment centre at Kinsale Road. When did that happen? I have freedom of information replies, loads of them, and that was never confirmed. Does the Minister of State know who made that decision? It was SouthDoc, which is making millions off the SouthDoc service. I want an investigation and I want Blackpool opened.

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