Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, to the House. I thank him for engaging in this Commencement debate on the future of the Sacred Heart Hospital in Roscommon.I wish to share my time with Senator John Kelly.

The Minister is probably aware of the situation regarding the HIQA report into the future of the Sacred Heart Hospital in Roscommon. In the report of 2 March when an inspection took place, HIQA highlighted many issues the director of nursing, Ms Silke, was well aware of but for which no funding had been forthcoming from the HSE. I have a long association with the Sacred Heart Hospital, having been there at the opening of the new unit in the 1970s, as a former Minister of State in the Department of Health and as a Deputy and former chairman of the western health board. I have always fully supported this fabulous institution in Roscommon.

I was also anxious to have the facility called the Sacred Heart Hospital, as opposed to Sacred Heart home, because it carries out the work of a step-down hospital and is a tremendous support to the work of the acute county hospital in Roscommon with which it works closely. The Minister will be aware of the facilities there. The hospital cares for 95 residents and has 35 full-time nursing staff, 48 health care assistants, 11 interns, cooks, kitchen staff, laundry staff, clerical staff, maintenance staff and two physiotherapists. All of this is provided at the Sacred Heart Hospital. The overall medical care is under Dr. Gerry O'Meara, consultant geriatrician and registrar, and staff. All temporal and religious needs are cared for, with mass every day in the beautiful church on the site.

The immediate crisis is that from 7 September 2015, no new admissions are purported to be allowed. However, I got an update on the situation this morning and have been informed by the management of the hospital that there is no block on admissions and it is still admitting patients. The licence has not been renewed and they have been told it is in the process of being renewed. The immediate challenge is the provision of approximately €170,000 for remedial works - partitions, doors, toilets, etc. - which will ensure registration will continue, pending the allocation of a major capital injection from the Department.

I understand that in the past few days a proposal has been made to provide approximately €400 million over the next five years for the upgrade of State institutions like the Sacred Heart Hospital, Roscommon. Knowing the background situation in Roscommon, the Minister is aware that his predecessor, Deputy James Reilly, gave a commitment to maintaining the 24-hour accident and emergency facility, but that was closed despite the commitments given by the Taoiseach and Deputy Gilmore. The people of Roscommon will not stand idly by and allow lightning strike twice. If the new 50-bed single occupancy rooms with full ancillary services and facilities are not provided, at an estimated cost of up to €13 million, the future of the Sacred Heart Hospital is in jeopardy.

The people of Roscommon have attended meetings in large numbers and have highlighted the issues on the Vincent Browne show. I am confident the money will be forthcoming. I have pressed my party's shadow spokepersons to ensure there is provision in the Fianna Fáil manifesto for major capital investment. This will be provided, but we must see this as an issue of putting people before politics. I ask the Minister for an indication of the allocation and ask him to approve that allocation in the budget to secure the future of the Sacred Heart Hospital in Roscommon.