Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is welcome to the House. I raise the important issue of funding for Galway Hospice because as I have said here in the Seanad previously, I believe there are some promises that ought to be kept in politics, and one of those promises was that given by the Taoiseach to the late Mr. John Cunningham, the former editor of The Connacht Tribune, when he said that the shortfall in funding for Galway Hospice Foundation would be addressed and that there would be support for expansion of the hospice in Galway. That commitment was given by the Taoiseach to the late Mr. Cunningham before his death in November 2011, and it was renewed by him some months later when he stated:

In due course you can take it that John Cunningham's words meant a lot to me that night when I was out there ... I tend not to forget things like that. If you like, in a personal sense to me, it was his last request and it is one that I'd like to see we can stand over.

That was not an election promise, and I have no doubt that the Taoiseach was sincere when he made that commitment, but the language is specific, and it is a particularly sensitive situation when a commitment like that is made.

I want to put on the record that Galway Hospice has done tremendous work. It has not expanded since its initial development in terms of its inpatient services, yet the demand for its services has increased greatly. Funding from the Health Service Executive, HSE, covers approximately 70% of its funding. Approximately ¤3.4 million was received last year, and I understand another ¤1.5 million is raised by the hospice to do its important work, apart from inpatient care, home care and so on.

It is a tribute to the Galway Hospice Foundation that it managed to raise so much money from a relatively small catchment area of about 250,000 people. It is a success story. It is true there are great needs across the country in terms of hospice care. However, the specific needs of Galway need to be emphasised at this point. There is talk of a funding cut of between 1.6% and 5% but that simply must not happen. There has already been a cut of about 10% in funding since 2009. More and more pressure is being put on a service which is giving much added value to the State, considering what it would cost to care for people in hospitals where the care would not be as good and as targeted. Thinking smart and working smarter and not harder, as the saying goes, would suggest that this particular effort needs to be made.

The Galway Hospice Foundation which has plans to develop to a 26-bed facility wants to get moving on its interim plan to add six beds to its current 12-bed inpatient facility. It needs to be assisted now. I realise the difficulty we face in terms of funding, even for very good causes, given the current crisis. The nature of that promise was such that it has to be honoured. These promises have to mean something. I know that concern is shared by the family of the late Mr. Cunningham and by the people of Galway Hospice and others people in Galway.