Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

May we have a debate on the resourcing of the health service, in particular, diabetes services throughout the country? Tomorrow is World Diabetes Day. I ask for the support of the House in seeking resources for the north west region where, for the first time, insulin pump therapy for people with diabetes is being made available at Sligo Regional Hospital. It does, however, require substantial investment. While I appreciate that we are in very difficult times from a capital and current expenditure perspective, there have been some improvements in the national finances and I hope additional resources can be made available. I met ten year old Troy Gilgarrow who was promoting World Diabetes Day and he explained how he had to travel to Dublin for treatment. We now have the potential to provide this treatment in the north west, in one of only four centres throughout the country. However, the decision to allow this service to go ahead - we have a qualified endocrinologist on site - is not enough. Additional capital support is required to have a modular unit brought up to speed.

Following on from my unsuccessful amendment yesterday, I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government come to the House to explain the discriminatory approach he is taking to small local authorities, in particular, Sligo County Council where it appears that at a secret meeting lately with his colleagues in the Labour Party and Fine Gael he indicated his intentions to abolish the council without providing necessary support for it. This is an important debate to have and these questions need to be answered. As I said yesterday, for the Minister to do this to small local authorities - in this instance, the people of Sligo - is to do to the north west what Brussels, the ECB and Jean-Claude Trichet did to Ireland.