Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. Yesterday morning, the people of County Donegal were shocked by what they learned on Highland Radio, the local radio station. The shock did not come from the news that former Deputy James McDaid had resigned from the Dáil but from an announcement by Dr. Donal Martin, the consultant in palliative medicine at Donegal Hospice, in which he informed the listeners to the "Shaun Doherty Show" that Donegal Hospice would close its doors to new admissions from 21 December onwards. I did not hear the interview but have had the opportunity to speak to Dr. Martin in recent hours. He has informed me of the reasons he made such a statement and I understand he also issued a letter that was published in The Irish Times yesterday.

Dr. Martin claims the HSE has been running down funding of Donegal Hospice over a number of years. He informed me that since 2003, Donegal Hospice has seen a reduction in its nursing staff of 50% from 18 to nine. Recently, it has had its secretarial services scaled down to one day per week and its receptionist, who is on sick leave at present, has not been replaced. In addition, catering and cleaning staff numbers have been reduced at the hospice. He spoke about the need for savings and about how it is important for the Government to find savings in the budgetary environment in which we find ourselves. He mentioned how in the past there were empty beds that could not be filled because the rooms in which they were located were not cleaned because of the absence of cleaning staff.

The reason for the most recent announcement is that the HSE is refusing to fill the vacancy that will arise as a result of the expiration of the contract of one of the hospice's junior doctors in December. Dr. Martin informs me and has claimed on the radio show that he cannot operate Donegal Hospice at a safe level without three junior doctors and one consultant. Moreover, he states this is not simply his own view but is grounded in the recommendations of a committee that was established in 2001, namely, the National Advisory Council on Palliative Care. The Government has endorsed this council and its recommendations, one of which was that to be run safely, hospices should be run on the basis of one consultant and three junior doctors. I note the Minister for Health and Children has withdrawn services from the north west on the grounds that they could not be run safely. This news has been met with outrage and anger, much of which has been focused on the consultant himself for stating on Highland Radio that this facility was to close. He, in his defence, will say he cannot operate it safely and that it is within the HSE guidelines that he forms that opinion.

We need clarification. First, will Donegal Hospice be able to continue to function for new admissions after 21 December 2010? With that in mind, I ask the Minister of State to refer to the fact that the consultant is the only person who can allow new admissions. If he says he will not allow admissions to happen because the hospice cannot operate safely, how do we get beyond that point? Second, can an eight-bed hospice run safely and provide services with only two junior doctors? I understand the HSE is talking about negotiations with staff and that there are issues about pay bills and so on. We have launched the Sinn Féin pre-budget submission and we have made it clear that public sector workers should not earn in excess of €100,000.

The Government must take decisions in terms of the budget but my concern is not about what doctors are paid. It is whether new admissions to the hospice will be allowed after 21 December and how that will be brought about if the consultant, who is the only person with authority to receive new admissions, is refusing to do so, not on a whim but because he cannot operate the system safely. Who in their right mind would allow a system to operate for people at their most vulnerable time if it could not be operated safely? Those are the questions we need to ask. I am sure the Minister of State is aware of the importance of a functioning palliative care service that reduces hospital inpatient stay by 25% and emergency department attendance by 40%. It is crucial that we continue to have this service.

I refer to my earlier point. The number of nurses has been cut by half from 18 to nine, the secretary's hours have been cut to one day a week, the receptionist has not been replaced, the catering staff have been scaled back so that only cooked chilled food is served, the cleaning staff have been reduced to the extent that some rooms cannot be occupied because they are not clean, and now the number of junior doctors has been reduced. Is there an agenda for the HSE to downgrade Donegal Hospice and force its ultimate closure? I hope the Minister of State can give positive news and allay the fears of the people of Donegal.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the huge work done by people in Donegal and by people from Donegal in other countries who have raised money for Donegal Hospice, and the committee at the heart of Donegal Hospice which has done Trojan voluntary work. Without their work the hospice would not be where it is today. I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's reply.