David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I am sure the Minister of State's speech was written by a civil servant. The information it contains was obviously obtained by the HSE. On each occasion we ask questions about what is going to happen at Waterford Regional Hospital, all we get from the HSE is spin. We are informed about new appointments which might happen at some point in the future. However, we are not being given details in respect of how the €6.5 million cut in the hospital's funding will impact on patient care. The Minister of State has indicated that activity levels are expected to fall by 6%. I presume this is an across-the-board figure for the health service nationally. It is possible that the figure might be above 6% for certain hospitals. As stated, the information given to me by people who work in Waterford Regional Hospital indicates that, in some instances, the figure will certainly be higher than 6%.

I look forward to publication of the regional service plan for HSE South in next week. When it emerges, we will see the real detail with regard to what is envisaged. Unfortunately, many of the plans published by the HSE do not contain such detail and all we tend to get are vague commitments about things that may occur in the future. Information on what is happening in individual hospitals tends to be absent from such plans.

Many of the staff at Waterford Regional Hospital, including consultants, clinical directors, clinicians and front-line staff, are extremely concerned about the impact of the proposed cuts on service delivery. I do not know whether the Minister for Health wants to accept this, but it is the reality for those who work in the hospital.