Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister and thank her for being here. I wish her well in her brief.

This is an issue close to my heart because we, in Athlone, have no primary care centre and there are doctors working from inadequate premises. This is the only way the people of the town and its environs will have a service with psychiatry, psychology, warfarin and diabetic clinics all being provided under one roof. It will make it easy for a patient to be treated in his or her own community without having to go to an accident and emergency department or an acute hospital. While I accept Senator O'Toole's argument, the only way the people of the Athlone will have access to services is if doctors are prepared to invest their money with support from the Government.