Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for his speech to which I listened intently in my office in the past few minutes.

I thank Fianna Fáil for bringing forward this motion so that all the lies, untruths and misinformation that they and others have been spreading can be challenged and refuted. The Minister has done a pretty good job in that regard here today.

They have, by their behaviour, caused worry, fear, anxiety and concern to expectant mothers in my constituency and in surrounding areas, and particularly to the employees of Portiuncula Hospital. These employees were told by Fianna Fáil - this is not hearsay as they put it in an election document that was circulated around the town of Ballinasloe - that the decision to close the maternity unit in Portiuncula Hospital would be taken two weeks after the local elections. A new young candidate put that out in his election literature. The young man, for whom I have tremendous admiration, did not design it, but it was designed by an Oireachtas Member who mischievously attempted to misrepresent and cause fear and worry for so many around the Ballinasloe area.