Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White. If a promise had never been made to Galway Hospice Foundation for funding I would want to support a call that the facility be adequately funded and that the moneys required for its expansion would be made available as it provides an incredible service, with limited resources, to the community and surrounding areas. We all know families whose loved ones would not have coped in their final weeks and months without the support of Galway Hospice Foundation and its team of nurses. It would make economic sense to expand the Galway Hospice facility as it would free up many beds at University College Hospital, Galway, and take care of patients who should be treated in a hospice setting as distinct from a general hospital setting. There is a need for a broader debate on funding for hospice care. It is not right that Galway Hospice Foundation should be so dependent on fundraising and the goodwill of organisations and the relatives of patients who die in the hospice for the ongoing funding of the facility. I hope the Minister of State will have positive news. I understand we are in difficult times but I have reason to believe the news for Galway Hospice in the future is likely to be positive. We would like the funding for the expansion to be provided sooner rather than later.