Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I support both amendments which were tabled by the Labour Party and Fine Gael and which clearly address the major problem with the Bill. We are of the view that amendment No. 2 is critical and we will not be supporting the Bill if it is not accepted.

Amendment No. 2 provides, as Deputy Ruairí Quinn stated in the Dáil, that St. Luke's should be retained as a centre of excellence and should not be sold. It is a simple but critical amendment. We are aware that St. Luke's is more than just a local institution in what Senator McFadden referred to as a leafy suburb. As the Senator stated, some of her constituents have travelled to St. Luke's for treatment. People travel from all over the country to be treated there.

St. Luke's is recognised as a national centre of excellence, which is evidenced by the many thousands of people who have argued for its retention. The Minister of State will be aware that a petition containing more than 150,000 signatures has been handed in and approximately 5,000 people have signed up to the Facebook page. We have all received e-mails and messages from people in all walks of life in which they related the most heart-rending stories. Senator Fitzgerald, quite rightly, read some very tragic human stories into the record. While their stories may indeed be tragic, the people to whom I refer have been assisted by the calm atmosphere that obtains at St. Luke's and the excellent treatment they have received there. There are people in the Gallery - many of them with direct personal experience of this matter - who have been arguing for the retention of St. Luke's.

In excess of 71,000 treatments were delivered at St. Luke's in 2009 and large numbers of patients were provided with care. Those who support the hospital are formidable fund-raisers and I understand a new extension costing €15 million was opened there in the past 18 months. I am very familiar with the hospital, having visited friends there. I have always been impressed by the high levels of care and treatment patients receive there. This is a centre worth retaining.

My party's spokesperson on health in the Dáil, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, made a very strong case to the effect that we are not arguing for St. Luke's as some sort of stand-alone centre. Rather, we are arguing that it should be linked to one of the designated centres for the Dublin area. This is because we support the centres of excellence policy that is at the core of the health strategy relating to cancer care. However, we understand that there are facilities such as St. Luke's which have a unique character and which have been doing work to assist the recovery of cancer patients for many generations. We are of the view that these facilities can be incorporated into the centres of excellence strategy in a way that will allow them to continue the work they have been doing. We are not necessarily suggesting that surgery be available at the hospital. We propose that the hospital be attached to one of the designated centres of excellence.

During the debate in the Dáil, there was a great deal of assurance provided that the provision relating to St. Luke's will not come into effect until 2014. Perhaps the Minister of State can clarify whether that is the case. On Committee Stage in the Dáil, he appeared more sympathetic to the Labour Party's argument to the effect that a different approach should be taken. However, the current wording contained in the Bill - which was put in place on foot of an amendment the Minister of State introduced in the Dáil - is not satisfactory. It merely provides an empty assurance that there will be a stay of execution for four years. It appears that when this period has elapsed, the sale of the hospital will be carried out.

There are a number of other issues which must be addressed. I refer to the consequences to which the Bill will give rise if it is passed in its current form. If the legislation is enacted as it stands, additional pressure will be placed on St. James's Hospital. It will also lead to further delays being experienced. There are already unacceptable delays in the treatment of cancer patients, especially those in the public system. In addition, issues also arise with regard to inequity in the health service. This is a matter to which the Labour Party has always been opposed, especially in the context of more favourable treatment being given to private patients. These issues must be addressed. If they are not, adverse consequences will arise for patients at St. James's Hospital. When one considers the extraordinarily high levels of cancer among people in this country, it is obvious that there is a need to be very careful about closing any facility which is recognised as a centre of excellence and where the atmosphere and the positive treatment provided appear to be especially conducive to the recovery of cancer patients.