James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I thank the Senators.

In response to Senator Jimmy Harte, the utterances of Dr. Humphreys were most unfortunate and ill-considered. He refers to a theory that went out 50-odd years ago. It was promulgated by a man by the name of Dr. Bettelheim and debunked initially by parents who had the good sense to speak out and point out that if they had four children, three of whom were perfectly normal, their parenting was not the problem. This is an organic condition with a multiplicity of genetic factors. As I told parents on TV3 last night, they know their children and their needs and should not let anyone set a limit on their horizons. In many cases, the outlook can be quite good. What all parents want is for their children to be able to reach their full potential. It is my responsibility and job to ensure the services are put in place to allow this to happen, even in times of financial stress. I announced the allocation of an additional €1 million per year for the next three years for services for children with autism to allow for earlier diagnosis and intervention. Moreover, I have made it clear to the service that I am not satisfied with the position where some receive a Rolls-Royce service, while others receive none, which is neither equitable nor fair. This issue is being addressed.

Lifford Community Hospital is a small hospital which will be difficult to maintain. The Minister of State, Deputy Dinny McGinley, has contacted me about it many times. Moreover, I have visited it myself, I am familiar with the general practitioners and acknowledge it provides a great service. However, in the overall scheme of things, one must try to consider some way to financially support it that makes sense. I will be happy to discuss any model that might emerge from local people if they have innovative ideas.

On the type 1 diabetes service in County Donegal, I am not aware that it is moving to County Sligo, but I can check the position for the Senator.

Last but not least, I come to Senator John Crown's contribution. I have visited the Irish co-operative for oncology research and the work it is doing provides a model for bringing together experts, not building a big premises but sharing information and being involved in world trials. An astonishing statistic that is worth repeating is that in clinical trials around the world the general participation rate is approximately 3% of patients, but in one of the group's studies it managed to achieve a participation rate of 30%, which speaks volumes. Moreover, it is important to emphasise the benefit to patients of being involved in such activities, which is they have access to cutting-edge medication, as well as phenomenal supervision because they are part of a trial.

As for the career path for junior hospital doctors, I have a report on my desk that I hope to have finalised shortly. The intention is to send a clear signal to those who have trained, have reached specialist registrar level and are now being interviewed for consultant posts but who do not get them because of the lack of such posts. Only one in four do so; the other three leave Ireland, despite our having spent up to €1 million on training them. As it is madness to let them leave the country, a clear career path should be provided for them. I have made it clear that this is not like the English system which is something of a graveyard for those who never get to become consultants. It will be a natural progression to consultancy as long as one meets peer group review requirements and the number of publications necessary.

I will conclude by noting the Senator's comments on the different contracts for research versus service make sense. This is certainly something I will explore.

I thank Members for their indulgence and for contributions. I look forward to returning to the House to update them on progress in the reform of the health service because the final message is that reform works. It is measurable and one can see it.