Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)

Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire agus gabhaim buíochas leis as teacht isteach le díriú ar an gceist seo. Ceist bheag í i gcomhthéacs na tíre í ach ceist mhór í i gcomhthéacs an phobail as a dtagaim.

I raise the issue of the public health nursing service in Connemara in light of the fact that we have heard that the public health nurse based in Roundstone who is due to retire will not be replaced. Roundstone is a very remote rural community and the public health nursing service is extremely important in that area. Other health services in the area are being curtailed, particularly dental services, due to staffing issues. We have also heard of the curtailment of services in terms of old people's homes in the area through the amalgamation of services, which is also due to staffing issues.

There is great concern, particularly in the Roundstone area, about how the service that was delivered by the public health nurse over the years will be continued, where the burden will fall and if it were to fall on public health nurses in areas nearby, would that have a detrimental effect on how they serve their existing communities? All the public health nurses working in that area are extremely busy and their jobs involve a good deal of travelling to see their patients.

In the matter I tabled I asked if the Minister could indicate the wider geographic area of Connemara and the Aran Islands which would be serviced by public health nurses. Can we expect similar situations to arise there? Are more curtailments and cutbacks envisaged in the number of health nurses there and in the provision of the services, or are the services to be rejigged? This issue must be viewed in the context of the number of people who applied for redundancy in the recent opening available to them under the public service agreement, whereby they could apply to leave the service. I understand some 3,500, people in the health services have applied to leave under that programme and there is the issue of whether that will impinge on position. Cuirim fáilte roimh tuairimí an Aire go mbeidh sé in ann léiriú a thabhairt dúinn agus deimhniú a thabhairt do phobal Chonamara agus phobal Chloch na Róin agus pobal Oileáin Árainn go mbeidh na seirbhísí in ann leanacht ar aghaidh agus go mbeidh seirbhís mar is ceart á chur ar fáil.