Camillus Glynn (Fianna Fail)

I support a call for a debate on the recent health report. I agree with Senator Quinn that it is useful to have this report at this time. There are some aspects with which we all agree and some we will disagree with. I do not want to pre-empt what might be said in the course of that debate. However, one of the topics that annoys me on an ongoing basis is capital projects. Capital projects, by their very nature, are painfully slow. Take phase 2B of Mullingar Regional Hospital, for example, and the utterances made by Mr. Scanlan, the gentleman who was mentioned here recently. That was not acceptable to me because in so far as I am concerned the commitment we have stands.

Notwithstanding that, many issues need to be addressed. Performing hospitals such as Mullingar are not getting their fair share of case-mix money. The efforts of the professionals and other staff in those hospitals, from the top to the bottom, who are delivering the services in a most efficient way, are not being reflected in the allocation of the case-mix money. We are told that is to happen but in a different way. I will have to change my glasses to see where it is coming from, because it does not seem to be getting to Mullingar Regional Hospital.