Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, I called a vote on the Order of Business, having called on the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, to attend to clarify certain statements made by Mr. Tony O'Brien, director general of the HSE, on the national children's hospital. The Minister was unable to attend but sent a Minister of State in his Department to address us. I asked the following questions. Was the statement made by Mr. O'Brien that the HSE cannot afford to build the national children's hospital accurate? If so, what exactly does that mean? Does it mean the entire proposal to build the hospital at the St. James's site is shelved? Why did it require a HSE official to deliver that news the day before yesterday to an Oireachtas committee? Why did the Minister not deliver the news? Was the hospital project in jeopardy? Can the Minister set out how much taxpayers' money has been invested in developing the proposed site at St. James's Hospital to date?

I am 100% for this hospital project as are all my colleagues in the constituency. Not one of these questions was answered by the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, yesterday. She completely fudged every single one of these questions. It is alarming that the first-in-command in the HSE can make statements on one of the biggest projects in the State, yet the Minister does not have the courtesy to attend the House to explain and make a statement on these matters.

The second matter I would like to raise today relates to the ongoing nightmare of staff shortages in the HSE. Nurses have voted in favour of industrial action and will carry out a work-to-rule from Tuesday, 7 March. This is incredible. The Minister for Health promised 1,200 nurses. To date, 108 beds have been closed in our hospitals. It is a continuous nightmare for Fine Gael, which has had three Ministers in the Department of Health. Not one of the them has been able to make a dent in the crisis that sees 600 patients on trolleys a week.