Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)

It is a pity the Minister is not here this morning because the Minister of State is reading out a response I have received several times to parliamentary questions. I know all this stuff. I also know that Louth does not have a community rehab team. I deal quite regularly with people who have acquired brain injuries, MS, FND or Parkinson's disease and they are not being cared for. The rationale is that they should go to Dublin, but the exhaustion of having to travel to Dublin from north Louth, south Louth or indeed mid-Louth is not acceptable. The stress of that is not good for health outcomes. The Minister of State said that we need to have the best outcomes or care pathways "as close to home as possible". The HSE is not even doing what it is recommending or what it is putting in replies for the Minister of State to say. This is for the Department of Health and the HSE. Again, it is the same answer about the HSE national service plan 2026. The reality is that County Louth has no neuro-rehabilitation teams. I need one, my constituents need one and the patients deserve proper care close to home, exactly what the HSE and the Department of Health clearly state.

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