Noel Coonan (Fine Gael)

I would like to add my voice to the call for a debate, or rather, action on the health services. Mention has been made of services that are available after 6 o'clock in the evening or indeed, a 24-hour service. We have a two-tier health system. If one can afford health treatment one will get it instantly, if not one must wait and go through the agonies being experienced by patients at present. I would include the area of disabilities in the call for action.

I was shocked recently over the case of an eight year old boy from my part of the country who was attending hospital in Crumlin and in desperate need of a new wheelchair. He has outgrown the one he has but he could not get one. Despite the fact that his consultant in Crumlin said, last November, that he was in need of a new wheelchair to prevent pressure sores and to allow for his recuperation so he does not need to re-enter hospital, he does not know whether he will get one anytime this year, because of the lack of available funding. A wheelchair costs in the region of €10,000 to €12,000 and it is a disgrace that a young person in this——