Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Táim buíoch go bhfuil deis labhartha ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo agam agus ag an Teachta Ó Gallchóir.

The Minister of State will recall that about two years ago, there was much hype when the then Minister of State, Kathleen Lynch, announced the Government's five-year programme of investment in nursing home facilities. Despite all the Government's efforts to sell this package as a good news story, it was met with justifiable shock, confusion and anger right across communities in Donegal. This was followed by confirmation that nursing beds in three existing community hospitals in the county, namely, Lifford, Ramelton and St. Joseph's in Stranorlar, were to be replaced by a new 130-bed central nursing unit to be constructed in Letterkenny. It has been that word "replaced" that has been the root cause of this public outrage and it is hardly surprising. In a single press statement, it was announced that the Government was planning to effectively downgrade not just one public community hospital but three, and all in the same county.

Since then, the communities affected have not stood idly by. They have organised and stood up for themselves. Over two years now and more, campaigners, members of the public, hospital staff, residents and families have literally taken to the streets in opposition to these plans. While their determination, passion and fight-back must be commended, the future of the services, in particular the long-term residential care in these hospitals, remains as uncertain as ever.

What was the cause of this cold, callous stroke? A ministerial pen two years ago. That is what caused all of this. It has been allowed to fester for the last two years. Far from providing certainty, the Minister of State and her Government have continuously given conflicting reports to communities concerned about the future of these services. Will the Minister of State give these communities the certainty and straight talking they deserve and that has been so shamefully denied for over two years? Will she now, before this House, clarify the future of long-term residential care in Lifford, Ramelton and St. Joseph's Community Hospital, Stranorlar? Will she give a commitment that these services at these hospitals will not be downgraded in the future?

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl as ucht deis labhartha ar an gceist thábhachtach seo a fháil in éineacht le mo chomhghleacaí, an Teachta Pearse Doherty.

I am not surprised to hear the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, cannot be here today. I know exactly where he is; he is on his way to Donegal at the invitation of the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh - on a Tuesday evening when we have a minority Government. They decided to do this when neither myself, Deputy Pearse Doherty nor any other Deputy could attend the event. I think this is very cynical and the Minister must answer to it. We would have been there if it was any other day. Had they travelled from Sligo on Friday last to meet 550 irate people, we could have discussed this in person.

As Deputy Pearse Doherty has suggested, the decision of January 2016 has to be overturned. The only consistency in all of this is that every single reply to our parliamentary questions has indicated that the long-stay beds in those hospitals of St. Joseph's, Ramelton and Lifford do not have a future.

I received that reply in early July this year, before the recess. Of course, when the political temperature became too hot for the Minister of State at the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy McHugh, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Jim Daly, went on local radio and suggested that the information given to me by way of parliamentary reply was wrong. I was very pleased because I thought there had been a mistake and that this would be reversed. The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, has yet to confirm to the Dáil that that was not true. The answer to the parliamentary question was correct, and I give full credit to those who prepare them. It is not good enough. Further to that, the Minister of State, Deputy McHugh, announced there would be €3 million available. That was fake news; it is a tissue of you-know-what. Those 550 irate people will be back there tonight again and they want answers. The answer cannot be that it is in the national development plan, because that plan is underwriting the plan of 2016. I hope the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Byrne, who is always available to answer questions, will be able to tell us, on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, that he has decided to rescind the decision of 2016.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I have no bloody idea what the Minister of State will say at tonight's public meeting, which was organised by Fine Gael. The meeting that was organised by the group concerned about this issue and to which all Deputies were invited happened last Friday. If the Minister of State has something to say we should be informed about it here.

I spoke about the confusion which has annoyed people on the ground, particularly those who have loved ones in these community hospitals. This just adds to the confusion. The Minister of State's statement indicates the decision concerning the Letterkenny unit is related to the long-term residential services and is separate to and independent of any consideration of other services currently provided in the three community hospitals. However, Kathleen Lynch's statement was to the effect that this is going ahead because it is replacing the beds in the other hospitals. The Minister of State's statement then goes on to say that the decision reflects the view that the hospitals were not considered to be appropriate for use as residential care homes in the medium term. It says that these premises are no good for use as long-term residential homes at this point in time.

I am really disappointed, not in the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, but that in his absence, the Minister of State with direct responsibility for this area did not provide this House with a clear, concise message. The message we want to hear is that Kathleen Lynch's statement of January 2016 - which is two years and one month ago now - is redundant, and that the HSE, through the Government, will invest in these hospitals to ensure the long-term beds will be secure into the future.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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What stands out in the prepared reply on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, is the statement that the services are delivered in buildings that are less than ideal in the modern context. The Minister of State will see this evening, when he visits St. Joseph's, that the facilities there are adequate. I believe that, as do those who have their loved ones there. The Minister of State decided a number of months ago that those facilities would have a derogation so that the HIQA standards would not apply there. I believe the facilities there are as good as those in any other part of the country.

There is also a question mark here over the future of other hospital services, apart from long-term services. This adds to the confusion. In short, we want clarity on this issue. The political decision of 2016 must be reversed, and we must have a plan which is acceptable to all. It needs to be drawn up and put in place to guarantee the future of long-stay accommodation units in the three hospitals. They need to focus on the future-proofing of the long-stay accommodation beds, restoring the bed numbers to what they were a number of years ago and restoring the services for all three hospitals. The facilities in Letterkenny and Ballyshannon which were mentioned are red herrings, because in addition to those, the beds in these three hospitals are required to meet the demographic trends and the aging population in Donegal.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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We are not there because the Ministers of State chose a day when we could not be there. It is political spin.