Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I too wish to congratulate the men's and women's rugby teams on their success in the past week. It shows that leadership was provided in the work they have done in achieving successful results at the weekend.

The week beginning 28 March is organ donor week. One of the problems in Ireland is that more than 600 people are waiting for kidney transplants. The number of medical consultants manning the national renal transplant programme is four, half the number it should be, which is eight. There is a need to focus on the recruitment of suitably qualified personnel to bring the number up to eight. In the past two to three years we have faced major problems in dealing with this issue. The cost of having a person on dialysis is approximately €70,000 per annum. When that amount is multiplied by 600, it gives one an idea of the net cost to the Irish taxpayer. The cost of performing an operation is of the order of €30,000. Obviously, the cost of care thereafter is considerably reduced. There is a need to focus on this issue during organ donor week - the importance of organ donation, the recruitment of suitable staff and the upgrading of this facility. The day of cutbacks is over. The day of expanding the service is here, and let us not miss that opportunity by failing to recruit people with the required expertise who can perform these transplants. Let us reduce the number of people who are on dialysis. That is something we should strive to do in the next two to three years.