Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I repeat that the Government is committed to ensuring the future of Connolly hospital. As I said, there are no proposals to downgrade the hospital. It is important for Senator Byrne not to be disingenuous when dealing with this issue. More than anybody else, he should know that no new money is available. When his party was in government, it brought this country to the brink of ruin. No new money is available. It has been perfectly clear that hospitals have to live within the budgets that have been set for them. The old system, whereby hospitals and other aspects of the health service sought supplementary budgets towards the end of the year, is simply not on at this point because there is no spare money. The Minister, Deputy Reilly, has made it very clear that hospitals must live within their budgets. They must provide the range and quantity of services they are contracted to provide. That is what is expected of Connolly hospital. That is the situation. We are committed to the future of the hospital. We are committed to ensuring there is no downgrading of the hospital. At the same time, it must be clear to the hospital that it is expected to live within the budgets it has agreed to live within.