Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and congratulate him on his appointment. In his first term as a Member of Dáil Éireann he is a Minister of State as well, which is a fair achievement, following his fellow Tuam man, the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, who has just gone out the door. Tuam is certainly on the map at the moment.

There has been speculation that the primary care centre in Monksland in south County Roscommon could be moved from the Galway, Mayo and Roscommon community health organisation, CHO, area 2, to CHO area 8, which covers Laois, Offaly, Longford, Westmeath, Louth and Meath. This is a different province. Roscommon has no political mandate on the HSE in the CHO area 8. The councillors in Roscommon, Paddy Kilduff, Tony Ward and Laurence Fallon are involved on HSE west. A decision to move Roscommon to CHO area 8 would create a democratic deficit and take away the voice of the people of Roscommon in their health affairs.

The HSE has advised that it is currently reviewing how community services can be best delivered locally to communities in an integrated way. It is not in the best interests of the people of south County Roscommon who have their primary needs looked after in south Roscommon in the purpose-build HSE west primary care centre. To move it into another administrative district may make sense to faceless bureaucrats who want to tear Roscommon apart at every opportunity - the save Roscommon campaign continues to seek to stop the proposed boundary review commission changes. This does not make sense to the people in south County Roscommon who want a health service in their locality. I also seek the Minister of State's support in ensuring that Roscommon is not divided. It is a form of apartheid to take a progressive region away from Roscommon and move it into Westmeath. It is an outrageous proposal and I hope the Minister of State, through his involvement in government, will ensure that does not happen.

The whole ethos of primary care is that it be local health care. Primary care comprises all the health and social services in the community outside hospital. It includes GPs, public health nurses and a range of other services and provides a single point of contact to the health system. There has been significant investment in this centre at Monksland. Services have been centralised from throughout Roscommon to this primary care centre at Monksland. While it may be speculation, sometimes speculation becomes reality. Along with all other Oireachtas Members from the Roscommon-Galway constituency I was approached about this issue and it is only right that I should put it before the House and seek a response from the Government.