Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I hope the Leader will organise a debate on national rehabilitation services in Ireland. I have raised this on a number of occasions. The Leader's colleagues, on the other side of the House, have raised it. We now have a serious problem. We have had commitments given to us in Seanad Éireann on the delivery of beds. There were ten beds closed at Christmas in the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire. We were given commitments. The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, was in the House. One will remember that we refused to approve the Order of Business for the day and eventually the Minister of State had to come in after tea on the day in question, at the Leader's request. I thank the Leader for organising and facilitating it at the time.

This matter was discussed in January and again in April, May and June of this year. We have seen commitments that there would be a phased reopening of the ten beds. If one examines the capacity, one notes there are fewer than 100 beds in the facility. Therefore, some 10% of the beds were closed down under the watch of this Government this year, in January. The bottom line is that we were then told that they would be re-opened on a phased basis, four by the summer.

Yesterday I received a telephone call again from contacts in the hospital who work there who say they are totally frustrated about all the excuses and arguments about recruitment, resources, etc. What is really more critical and a great scandal is that patients are waiting in a queue for beds trying to gain access to the national rehabilitation services in Dún Laoghaire. It is a pathetic debate to be talking about re-opening four of ten beds that were closed in January. All the beds are required.

There has been a plan for years about demolishing the place and building a new hospital. Despite three or four Ministers for health and three or four relevant Ministers and Deputies in the constituency, nothing has happened. We need a greater debate on the rehabilitation services for the whole country and on how regional services are fed into the national service at the rehabilitation hospital. Excuses and re-opening four beds, when ten were closed in January, are an absolute disgrace. This is an indictment of our health service. It needs to be addressed. Given that we now have time on our schedule in our Seanad in which to do business, we could address this important matter. I ask that the Leader arrange for the Minister with direct responsibility for this area of government to come into the House to explain the rationale for the closures in Dún Laoghaire and, more important, the short, medium and long-term plans for a roll out of a comprehensive rehabilitation service.