Phil Prendergast (Labour)

I am very disappointed that our amendment was not accepted. I sometimes wonder if I am hearing the same things as Senators on the other side of the House. I cannot see any difficulty whatsoever with this amendment. It would bring a degree of comfort to the people who have received an excellent service. I have a family member who received treatment in St. Luke's Hospital and she also had treatment in St. James's Hospital for two separate cancers, and I have to say that St. Luke's was the most wonderful place to visit.

I worked in the health profession and I often saw the deficiencies of the service first hand. People did not get treatment in the fullest sense, but the area in Rathgar where people were being nursed was the ideal location for them. It would not have harmed Fianna Fáil or the Green Party to have voted this in. I feel very disappointed that this has not happened.

People are so irate in this country. Some people now have to pay prescription charges, while others have suffered social welfare cuts. We have seen €22 billion given over to Anglo Irish Bank, even though it is useless, yet the Government would not accept this provision for the hospital in Rathgar. When it was indicated in the Dáil that the Minister would accept an amendment, it allowed us to focus on some of the positive aspects of this Bill. Like Senator Fitzgerald, I am positive about many aspects of it. However, our amendments were reasonable and balanced. They would provide a degree of comfort. The Minister for Health and Children has often said things in the past and denied them later.

People's fears are quite real. The Minister does not seem to be able to take on board perfectly reasonable amendments. We are not opposing for the sake of it. This is a genuine debate and the people who made the representations to all Senators across all parties had very valid points. They were genuine stories about the care and comfort that people received in St. Luke's Hospital, and I regret that this House could vote against perfectly good amendments.