Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

If 60 beds in University Hospital Galway have remained out of commission for two years, what is there other than a crisis in the accident and emergency system?

Some of the comments made by the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, about the Fine Gael proposals were scurrilous. He brought into question the situation for those with mental illness. They were never involved in this and he was going overboard, coming out with a knee-jerk reaction to hit the headlines. This is too serious an issue for that.

Four months ago, I was in the accident and emergency department in University College Hospital, Galway. Having waited for eight and a half hours, at 12.30 a.m., the doors opened to a commotion. Six people entered supporting someone who was shouting and roaring in pain. They forced their way into the treatment centre and that man was dealt with.

There was an elderly man beside me from Ballindyne in County Mayo with a broken collar bone. He had been there since 11 a.m. and had not been asked what he was doing other than to check in. At 3 a.m. that man had to phone someone in Ballindyne to take him away. The other people had got in. Four of them had been thrown out but they came out laughing at the idea that they had beaten the system. Those who question Deputy Kenny's remarks at the Fine Gael Ard-Fheis are questioning the reality of what is happening, the threats that medical professionals in accident and emergency departments face from those who are intoxicated. Something must be done and I fully support Deputy Kenny's suggestion.

The only holes the Government can pick in the proposal is how to decide who is drunk. It does not take a PhD to see who is drunk and who is not. Everyone in the accident and emergency hospital in Galway that night knew who was drunk. The backup the person had to get in were the real culprits, the people about whom Deputy Kenny was speaking.

Under the HSE we only have an emergency ambulance service. Services for the elderly to bring them from their homes to clinics and the care they needed are gone. In most of County Galway, where there is no public transport service, there is now only an ambulance service for emergencies and the chronically ill. How are the elderly to get to hospital for check ups and appointments? Any service that previously existed, with taxis and non-acute ambulance services, is now gone, as no finance exists for it.

The national ambulance service is based in Naas. If there are problems in rural areas, who should people contact? They will not get any service because local autonomy is gone. People said things would be great following the abolition of the health boards and that we would have a single, streamlined service. We now know that streamlining means no one is accountable at local level. Members of this House were members of health boards and could identify a person to get work done for a client. That cannot happen now, particularly with regards to the ambulance service.

Yesterday I asked the HSE headquarters in the west about the waiting time for home improvement grants for the elderly. A HSE official told me that people should not apply. I asked if the scheme had finished and he replied that it had not but all of this year's money had been used in the overspend last year and there would be no further funding. However, three weeks ago a Minister and a backbencher said there was so much money available for these schemes that the nursing homes were no longer under pressure to admit people because there were adequate funds to help them stay in comfort in their homes. There is not a penny in the western HSE region to help people stay in their homes, even in an emergency situation.

We have talked about the problems in the accident and emergency units, but the problems have extended beyond that. Elderly people cannot access an ambulance service or access funds to help them upgrade facilities in their homes to help them stay home. The paltry effort to provide a home care service is unbelievable. In the past the service amounted to a few hours, but it has almost reduced to minutes at this stage.

The Minister suggested the ten-point plan would solve these problems. However, the problem has moved out of the accident and emergency units into the community where it affects the elderly. It is important to take note of the statement made by an elderly person that it is the thought of going to hospital that is really frightening. This is the current situation and it is especially the case with regard to the elderly. They are afraid to even think about going to hospital.