Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State on our first day back following the summer recess. As a member of Government, I ask him to take control of the HSE. The Government must make itself responsible for the actions of the HSE which the people of County Wexford no longer trust. The Government has a constitutional obligation to protect patient care in this country, which is clearly not being protected by the HSE in County Wexford, the south east or throughout the country. We have been expecting investment in the accident and emergency department and the maternity unit at Wexford General Hospital but all we have seen is up to 40 beds closed in the hospital and no commitment by the Government to fund nurses on maternity leave or capital projects at the hospital that had been promised for years.

The Minister of State is responsible for mental health services and for the closure of St. Senan's psychiatric hospital. Commitments have been given to invest in mental health services in County Wexford but we are becoming fearful that these may not be implemented in the way we are expecting. We have no trust in the HSE. There is need for a direct ministerial involvement in how the HSE is run and the decisions it is making. Patients' lives are being put at risk but there is a sense the HSE is one hand removed from the serious concerns of the people in the areas for which it is responsible.