Margaret Cox (Fianna Fail)

If the Cathaoirleach bears with me, he will realise this is important. It is not often that we have the Minister in the House. My comments are completely related to the Finance Bill because the money comes from the Department of Finance. I will try to make my comments more specific to the Bill. They all concern how we are spending our money. Expectant mothers must wait 20 weeks to have a scan in the hospital in Galway. The Minister might say this is not his problem as it concerns the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, but it is. The Government made promises to the people of Galway in the past two elections and has failed to deliver on them. I was not elected, as the Minister knows, but I will not stand here and say this is good enough for Galway.

The roll-out of BreastCheck has been raised on the Order of Business and we will be discussing it in the health debate in the coming days. It was promised that it would be rolled out nationally in 2000. In 2003, it was promised it would be available in Galway in 2005. It will not be available until October or November of this year and this is not good enough. I am not referring to roads as these comprise an entirely different story but we must make a stand, as I intend to do, and argue that the circumstances I have outlined are not acceptable for the west, including Galway.