Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)

I welcome some of the younger people who have just arrived in the Visitors Gallery. I am sure some of them may be Senators in time to come if we can ensure the future of the Seanad.

At the risk of overburdening the Minister for Health, I ask that he attend this House to discuss the future reconfiguration of hospitals. There has been much discussion throughout the country about the way in which hospitals are being reconfigured. We know that some small regional hospitals are concerned about their futures, not least Sligo General Hospital in my own area. We have seen how the configuration of cancer services changed the system so that there are no centres of excellence above a line from Dublin to Galway. When hospitals are reconfigured in future in the interests of delivering quality services and efficiency, I do not want to see us ending up with an imbalance of hospitals and further arguments arising. I therefore ask the Leader to request the Minister for Health to attend the House for such a debate.