Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

-----if the Minister of State had the will to do so. At least, that would provide certainty for the board, the Friends of St. Luke's and patients. It would also provide certainty that the hospital would be used for cancer treatment services for public patients for many years to come. What people who suffer from cancer want is dignity and respect; that is the least they should be able to expect. They receive them in abundance in St. Luke's Hospital. Until such time as we have fully operational centres of excellence in the places St. Luke's Hospital should remain open to provide radiation oncology services.

To be parochial, I heard last week that the linear accelerators to be put in place in home city of Waterford would not be put in place for a few years, until 2014 or 1015. People in Waterford are reliant on the provision of a public service, with some public patients attending Whitfield Clinic. In the meantime we need to keep places like St. Luke's Hospital open, perhaps beyond 2014, until all pieces of the jigsaw have been put in place. That is all we are asking, that St. Luke's Hospital continue to provide cancer treatment services for patients beyond that date.