Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I have said, the Senator's message will be conveyed to the Department and in the absence of the Minister, I must say that I believe the Senator is being overly pessimistic about Navan. Construction work is going on there at the moment and units will be built. However, we all know that if there is major trauma involved, patients will have to be transferred to one of the larger hospitals. In Donegal, such patients must go to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. With all due respect, patients in Navan would not have to travel the same distances. The short response I have just read contains a list of guarantees which should reassure the people of Navan that their hospital will continue to operate as a vital cog in the wheel of health services provision for the people in the eastern region.