Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

The Minister of State referred to various improvements that have been made. The issue of follow-up mammography at Sligo General Hospital has not been addressed. I ask that action be taken in this regard.

The Minister of State indicated the Minister is requesting as a matter of urgency that the issue of funding for the bus from Sligo to University College Hospital Galway be resolved in the context of this policy review. The issue could not be more urgent. While the decision to provide lottery funding to help finance the purchase of a bus is welcome, the decision not to help fund the costs of running of the bus in light of budgetary constraints when €750,000 is available through the Travel2Care and care to drive schemes is ridiculous in the extreme. It is akin to providing a linear accelerator and asking members of the public to operate it themselves without a radiation specialist.

I appreciate the Minister of State provided a set-piece response. I ask him to convey my concerns to the Minister. I hope the Minister's request concerning the funding for a bus from Sligo to Galway will be dealt with in a matter of hours or days rather than in the turnaround time we have come to expect from the Health Service Executive.