Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy Ardagh on the comments she made.

I raise the very sad loss of Mr. Thomas Power from Waterford, who, as I am sure all Members are aware, passed away at the weekend. He went to Waterford hospital complaining of a pain in his chest but the cardiac unit was not open. As we are all aware, for a long time the people of Waterford and the south east have been fighting for this unit to be opened. It opens Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed at weekends. Mr. Power was told he would be taken by ambulance to Cork but he died on the way. That is a disaster. It is tragic and so sad in terms of the loss of a young life. The fact that the unit needs to be open 24 hours a day has been raised constantly with the Minister, Deputy Harris. We do not have a 24-hour service in the south east. It is unacceptable that people are expected to suffer heart attacks between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m on weekdays. If they suffer heart attacks at any other time, there is no service available. I call on the Minister to come before the House and provide an assurance that this cardiac unit will be open 24 hours a day. Statistics show that 80% of heart attacks happen after 5 p.m. I offer my sympathies to the Power family. It is disgraceful that those of us living in Waterford and the south east do not have access to a proper service. It is unacceptable. We are being treated as second-class citizens and I am of the view that this is down to funding. I ask that the Minister, Deputy Harris, come before the House and clarify this issue. I also call for the unit in question to be open 24 hours a day.