Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)

First, on machinery, I accept there is a replacement programme under way for St. Luke's but why are machines breaking down before action is taken? The internationally accepted lifespan for a treatment machine is ten years but in St. Luke's, Rathgar, they have two machines that are 15 years old and another two that are almost 17 years old. They are limited to using three machines at a time. This means that a quarter of the capacity in Rathgar is being lost. Why? It is to mitigate breakdowns. These machines need to be replaced every ten years. It is entirely predictable, so why is there not a national programme in place to support a ten-year replacement programme? This ad hoc replacement of antiquated machines coming too late in the day is compromising patient safety. Nationally, 35% of machines are already 15 years old, with two more approaching 17 years old. Some 40% of machines will require replacement in the next five years and overall, 75% of the machines will require replacement now or within five years.

We need greater investment and we need a programme to replace these machines.

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