Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Ulick Burke for sharing his time and the Minister of State for attending this debate. The Senator said there is a great need for beds for the elderly, to which the waiting list alone is testament. The reduction in the number of patients from 220 to 80 is significant. The Minister of State will probably say in her reply that Ballinasloe has been earmarked for another centre, perhaps a smaller one than the 80-patient unit in Loughrea.

Significant work has been done in St. Brendan's Hospital in Loughrea. A certain stigma might have attached to it in the past but everyone now speaks about the good level of care provided for the elderly there under very difficult circumstances. It was announced in the Estimates that funding was available but I do not know whether the funding was just for Loughrea or east County Galway. The Minister of State might be able to clarify the matter.

There is a waiting list and we have heard talk about two new units in Loughrea for seven years, as Senator Ulick Burke pointed out. It would be timely to start on the centre in Loughrea in the context of the current Estimates. Will Ballinasloe be included? There is a need for a number of centres in east County Galway to provide the service given in difficult times by the lay and religious at St. Brendan's Hospital.