Francis O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

I express my sincere sympathy to the Walsh family on the death of Mr. Patrick Joseph Walsh. It is very sad, particularly after the numerous sad events at Monaghan General Hospital, that another death has taken place there, a death that could have been prevented. Watched by his nephew, this man bled to death for seven hours. Expertise in the hospital could have saved the man's life. The hospital is not on-call and the staff are not insured to perform the operation that would have saved this man's life, which is wrong. This is going on in Monaghan General Hospital for a long time. There have been a number of deaths as a result of the hospital not being on-call and not providing accident and emergency services.

Senator Wilson and I have called for these services on many occasions. We made representations to the present and previous Minister for Health and Children, and the situation is still no better. This is another death which could have been avoided. The Walsh family and their circle of friends are rightly very hurt and sore as a result of the death of their good friend, Patrick Walsh.

I am asking for Monaghan General Hospital to be put back on-call. The emergency services required to save lives should be immediately restored to the hospital. We cannot wait even eight weeks for the result of an inquiry to see exactly what occurred to cause the death of Mr. Walsh. It is very unfortunate.