Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

As one of the few who spoke on the Bill on Second Stage last week, I felt obliged to come back into the House this evening to speak in support of the two amendments before the House. We spoke last week about the haven of peace, serenity and tranquility within the walls of St. Luke's Hospital. We have all had family members who suffered from cancer, many of whom attended St. Luke's Hospital. Senator Healy Eames captured the ethos of the hospital when she spoke about the treatment her father had received 20 years ago. It is something we cannot lose. The care provided with humility cannot be lost to the health system.

We all support the concept of having centres of excellence with multidisciplinary teams. During the debate on the Bill last week I argued that until such time as centres of excellence were fully operational we needed to keep places like St. Luke's Hospital and other specialised services fully operational.

Senator Feeney mentioned that the proposed amendments could not be accepted. There are reasonable amendments that could be accepted-----