Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

I want to raise the provision of X-ray services at two community care hospitals in my constituency, Donegal South-West. I raise this in a week in which there was much controversy surrounding the €6 million in debt being written off by HSE west as a result of not making a claim for insurance money available from private companies. That is a separate issue.

Up to the summer of this year, the community hospital in Killybegs, the country's primary fishing port, and the community hospital in Donegal town provided an X-ray service two days per week to people living in the catchment area in south Donegal, the southern end of my constituency. The service was provided because local community groups in both Donegal town and Killybegs collected almost €300,000 to provide the equipment being used for the X-rays. The HSE made a decision in the early part of the summer to reduce provision in the two locations from two days per week to one day per week, effectively halving the service. Two weeks ago, the HSE made a decision to have the service withdrawn with immediate effect. The service as we know it today is withdrawn. There is no provision of service at Killybegs or Donegal town because the radiographer responsible for providing the service in the two towns was transferred to Letterkenny General Hospital due to staff shortages there. That is what I have been told by the HSE officials.

I understand, on the basis of having liaised with HSE officials, that there is movement. The service must be restored in each of the community hospitals for two days per week. Anything less would be very unfair to both communities which collected the money to provide the equipment.

The only solution to this issue is the full restoration of service for two days per week in both Killybegs and Donegal. If there are staffing issues at Letterkenny General Hospital, they need to be dealt with on their merit and in the context of the moratorium. If there is to be an application made for additional staff at Letterkenny hospital it should be processed, if at all possible, through the Minister of State's Department and then submitted to the Department of Finance. The people in the other part of the county should not have to pay for any staff shortages in another hospital. It is totally unacceptable. I call for the HSE to restore the services not back to one day per week in each community hospital, but to two. I ask that Dungloe Community Hospital, which is in the same constituency, retain its current X-ray service, which is being provided two days per week. I hope the Minister of State can provide some clarification. The issue is pressing and of great concern, particularly to the communities that collected so much money to provide equipment for X-ray services.