Camillus Glynn (Fianna Fail)

The Leas-Chathaoirleach will recall that I made these points on the Order of Business on at least two occasions. I lobbied hard to get a dermatology service for Mullingar and I succeeded in doing so. It is true that the resources available to the person appointed were insufficient. The reason given was insufficient financial resources, yet when the person in question left, resources suddenly could be found to recruit two dermatologists. Having spoken to an individual from the Health Service Executive, I note a question mark was placed over the location of the dermatology service.

When I lobbied successfully for the provision of a dermatology service, it was stated to me there would be a department of dermatology for Mullingar. Since then, I have spoken to the chief executive officer of the HSE, Professor Brendan Drumm, and impressed upon him the importance of retaining the service in Mullingar. Not doing so sends out all the wrong signals. This has nothing to do with the fact that the Taoiseach is from 22 miles down the road. The health service is operated by the HSE. If one tables a motion pertaining to any given health service, one will be told the Minister has no direct responsibility as it is a matter for the HSE. That said, it sends out the wrong signal to the staff of the Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar, which is among the top three hospitals, as I have stated ad nauseam in this Chamber. The sustained efforts of all the staff will be dealt a body blow if the dermatology service is lost.

Statistics pertaining to all the services in the Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar show it is a very high performing hospital and that the amount of sick leave and other leave taken is not as high as in other hospitals in the region. An in-depth examination must be carried out because the hospital has provided the goods and done the job. All we are saying now is that what we have, we hold, and that we want the services in the hospital augmented further. Although Ireland and the rest of the world are experiencing a difficult time, I am not prepared to except the circumstances that obtain. A communication I received from a relative in Canada yesterday indicates that, contrary to what is being said, that country is not immune to the downturn.

In any event, the Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar has a long and proud history of health service provision. It was one of the top hospitals nationally in terms of student graduates when it was a training hospital. Operating in tandem with the dermatology service, the psychiatric service and all the others, there is a psychiatry of later life unit, which is one of the most successful in the country and the only one in the midlands. We have a lot of firsts to our credit.

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for his indulgence and Senator McFadden for sharing her time.