Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)

I will briefly break a tradition. I am holding a sign I have up in my office, which says "Vote No to the Hanly Report". It is there as a reminder to me that 25 years ago, I marched through the streets of Nenagh holding that sign, to protest against the downgrading of my local hospital, the one in Ennis and St. John's Hospital. People can blame that report for me coming into Dáil Éireann. I jest, but it was an inspiration for me.

The mid-west - Limerick, Clare and north Tipperary - has been discriminated against when it comes to hospital services. The south east has a model 4 hospital and two model 3 hospitals. We have one model 4 hospital.

I speak about this from personal experience. On 22 October last year, I stood here giving live evidence of why elderly people are afraid to go into University Hospital Limerick, UHL. It was about my father. I had to convince him while I was here to get into an ambulance at his house. He said, "Alan, I will never come out" and he never did. He came home to die, despite receiving the best care. What is on my conscience is that he went in there afraid.

My mother is in Nenagh Hospital at the moment. She will not be put into UHL because, at this moment, I will not allow it. It has nothing to do with the workers or the management. It has to do with the circumstances. We have been discriminated against in the mid-west. I stand here with lived experiences. A few months ago, my wife got very sick. It was 4 a.m. I rang someone who works in the HSE to ask for advice. I was told to go to Portlaoise. I live about 25 minutes from UHL. I went to Portlaoise. That is what all of us in the mid-west are facing.

Now we have a HIQA report. It is beyond me why HIQA is even doing this report on hospital services. What needs to happen is as clear as the nose on my face. Deputy Sheehan and I, and all the other mid-west politicians, cannot be another generation that lets down our area. We need a new model 3 hospital with a full emergency theatre and intensive care unit in the mid-west. Full stop. If that means we will build a unit of 100 beds to deal with capacity at the moment and then wrap a hospital around it, that is what we need to do. I stand here today speaking from personal experience, but also as one of this generation of politicians. Will the Government and the Tánaiste personally, be the brave people to say they will deliver another model 3 hospital to stop the discrimination in our region?

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