Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I extend my sympathy and that of my party and colleagues in the House to the Walsh family following the tragedy which took place in Monaghan General Hospital last week. It is very important that this matter is debated in the House, which is why I sought a debate on the Order of Business yesterday. I am glad that the Minister for State is with us today and thank him for putting his remarks on the record of the House.

The Minister of State has not given us additional information but it is important that colleagues at least raise the issue, put questions and have the matter recorded. There is a very dangerous assumption abroad that, with the advent of the brave new world of the Health Service Executive, politicians cannot comment on issues such as these. This assumption must be knocked on the head. Politicians decide the broad parameters of policy through the Department of Health and Children. Politicians also fund the Department of Health and Children and the various State agencies responsible for delivering policy. It is absolutely right and appropriate that politicians debate issues such as this when tragedies occur and seek accountability from the Government as to the exact scale and nature of the operations of such a crucial health service. I make no apologies for ensuring such a debate takes place in this House.

I heard the comments made by Professor Drumm yesterday morning. I agree largely with him that we cannot have a health policy directed by the local considerations of one group of politicians over another group of politicians. Let us also be clear that in the past there have been gigantic political manoeuvrings within the medical world, irrespective of party politics, where medics have sought to look after their own geographical area against other areas and one hospital pitted against another. One has to look at the decisions that come from An Bord Altranais at times in terms of trying to ascertain the rationale for them. Ultimately, the only people who are accountable are those who are elected to this or the other House. Consequently, we should make no apologies in asserting the right and the primacy of the Oireachtas in terms of getting answers to these questions.

From my discussions with people in the area and my colleagues in the other House, the people of the north eastern region are not looking for five acute hospitals that will deliver every surgical procedure that will look after every circumstance in the Irish medical health care system. What they are seeking is a guarantee that what happened to Mr. Walsh, and the tragic events that will always affect his family, will not happen again. That is the reason we have to put on the record a number of basic questions that must be answered. While I fully accept the need for the inquiry, which will be of eight weeks duration, these questions can be readily answered because the information is to hand.

The issue is whether there is a directive in place which states that a person who presents with a life threatening medical problem in this hospital cannot be dealt with. The Taoiseach told the Dáil yesterday that no such direction came from him, the Tánaiste or anyone else. It is clear from Dr. Duffy's comments on national radio yesterday and the experience on the ground that there is a clear directive that life threatening cases cannot be dealt with in this hospital. That is bizarre. It is bizarre that the HSE or any other group would dictate such a policy. Will the Minister of State confirm a matter to which Dr. Duffy alluded yesterday, namely, if it is the case that in January 2005 in Monaghan General Hospital where an urgent case developed requiring immediate surgical intervention to protect a person who needed emergency surgery, the doctor who carried out the surgery was later chastised and criticised by hospital management for doing so? Dr. Duffy and others have referred to this but the Government has not commented. If that is the case it is astonishing that a senior surgeon would be openly criticised by hospital management for a medical intervention that saved a person's life. It gets worse.

Another issue on which I would like the Minister of State to comment is the two further cases since Mr. Walsh's untimely death last week where patients were shunted around the region at the last minute because they were told in Monaghan General Hospital that it could not deal with the circumstances of their case. Is that a fact or is it not?

Why did it take four days for the Department of Health and Children to confirm that beds were available in Cavan and Drogheda hospitals? We know from this morning's newspapers that a bed was available in Beaumont Hospital. The manager in Beaumont Hospital stated categorically to the authorities in Monaghan General Hospital, as I understand it, that the acute bed was available and it was encouraged to come back and state whether this facility would be needed in respect of Mr. Walsh. Why did it take four days for that information to be revealed? That is an open and shut case that should have been brought to the attention of the Minister and the House much earlier.

It is a disgrace that skilled surgeons and medics had to look on as a man lost his life last Friday and could not intervene because of some bureaucratic ruling which the Taoiseach and Tánaiste say does not exist, but clearly does exist. That is an issue on which clarity is needed.

We speak regularly of joined-up Government. If ever there was an example of how the medical services are getting it wrong in their treatment of the north-eastern region — an issue my other colleagues are more adept at discussing in that they live there — a region of 350,000 people, it is surely this. Why are we getting it so wrong? The Government has known about this problem. Last year in the other House my colleagues tabled a detailed motion on the problems in the North Eastern Health Board region but no action was taken to knock heads together to get a solution and work on a protocol to which everyone could agree.

If we are serious about delivering a world class service for everyone in the country, not just those who live in big cities, such as myself and others, there has got to be a strong political involvement that signs up to whatever arrangements are agreed. Clearly, the tragedy of Mr. Walsh and the ongoing problem in Monaghan General Hospital is an issue that has to be resolved sooner rather than later. I wish the investigator every success. The three issues I have raised can be confirmed if the Minister of State can reply to the debate by way of a short statement.