Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I regret, as my colleague, Senator Thomas Byrne, mentioned yesterday, the fact that we have a light work programme in the House this week.

Today we have the Order of Business followed by an address, albeit a very important one to which we are all looking forward, by Mr. Jim Higgins, MEP. As Senator David Norris rightly pointed out yesterday, the Order Paper was never so full of legislation as it currently is, both Private Members' Bills and Government legislation, yet we are presented with a superficial filling of the schedule of business for the week. Moreover, the Leader has, apparently, ignored our calls for a debate with the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, on the report published this week which has caused great concern throughout the country. The newspaper headlines today refer to the issue I raised yesterday in the House, namely, that in the west there are the lowest response times in providing cardiac care. The new hospital groupings will do nothing to enhance the north-west region in the context of the provision of the much celebrated clinical programmes. That is borne out by the front page of The Irish Timeswhich tells us that people in the north west are at a direct disadvantage when it comes to cardiac care and cancer services. This is merely the latest addition to the litany of broken pre-election promises with which people have become all too familiar under the Fine Gael-Labour Party Government.

In this context, I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to include a debate on the announcements made this week on health care provision. The Minister must come to the House to explain how centralising management and budgeting for the entire north west in Galway will in any way enhance services in that region. I note that my colleague, Senator Thomas Byrne, has tabled a motion for debate on the Adjournment today on the future provision of services at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan. The Senator undoubtedly recalls that before the general election, the Minister attended a rally of more than 10,000 people in the town and met GPs, consultants and stakeholders in the area to deliver a guarantee that the accident and emergency service would not be withdrawn. This week, however, we learned that the reorganisation of the delivery of hospital care would include ridding Navan of that service. In fairness to the Leader, his political lobbying is evidently of sufficient effect to ensure there was no downgrading of Waterford Regional Hospital. In the case of Navan, on the other hand, the sum of the electoral parts of the Fine Gael Party did not, apparently, match the Leader's potent input in influencing the report on hospital groupings.

What are the people of Navan, the north west and other areas in which services are effectively being downgraded to do? The centralisation of budgeting and management will do nothing other than exacerbate the already difficult situation at certain locations, including the accident and emergency service in Navan and cardiac and cancer services in the north west. In response to my questions in this regard at the briefing on Tuesday evening Professor Higgins could only observe that in the fullness of time the road between Galway and Sligo would be upgraded. Is that what we are reduced to? The brightest minds in the country are saying that for 20% of the population, comprising the largest geographical area among the proposed hospital groupings, there is no need to worry about cardiac response times as reported on the front page of The Irish Timestoday - response times which suggest it will be a case of moving closer to a centre or risking almost certain death in a cardiac emergency - because the road will be upgraded in the fullness of time. That is what the people of the north west are left with. Will the Leader arrange for the Minister to come to the House today to answer these points?