David Norris (Independent)

I thank the Minister very much for her concern, in particular for her opening remarks. I know she said that she cannot be held to it, but I would like her to continue to engage with it because it is infinitely better than the bureaucratic gobbledegook that forms most of the speech, which is virtually impenetrable and could mean anything and which gives absolutely no commitment, except to the system. As far as I am concerned the previous Government got this country into one hell of a jam because it preferred to support the system above the people. There are no empty beds in Valentia Community Hospital. When I visited, I was moved by the way the elderly people were cared for, as there was not one single case of bedsores. That takes a lot of care. Many of the staff work on a voluntary basis and that must be put at a level where it is protected. I accept there is a landbridge, but it is a very different situation. I am not talking about jobs, I am talking about the impact physically, medically and socially on taking people out of their island home and dispersing them to three hospitals 100 kilometres apart. That is destructive to the community and I demand that it be examined.

I say this because I want to use the Minister of State - a wonderful person and a good friend - as a channel of communication to that bureaucracy. I did not take this up as a crusade. I took it up because I was visiting a friend and all the neighbours came around and asked me to do something for them. I told them I would go and visit their hospital because I can only talk about it passionately if I have seen the thing. I met a woman aged 100 years, and I do not believe she would survive being moved. I think there are other people there would not survive if moved either. They are wonderful people who have an active interest in life and they deserve to be kept in their community, and those without family - only a tiny number - receive visits from the relatives of the other patients. I was there when that happened.

I appeal to the Minister of State to get hold of that report for me, because it examines the injustice applied for bureaucratic reasons, squashing the community supported hospitals with the private hospitals. That must be examined because it does an injustice to our communities. I know that if anyone could address it, the Minister of State can.

Senator Sheahan would have been here, but he has managed to get down to the meeting in Valentia. Senator Moloney has also stayed here to support us. We have deployed our forces as tactically as we could.