Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response and welcome his commitment to visit Monaghan. I will contact his office to arrange the visit as soon as possible. He has said we cannot keep doing the same things and expect different results. I am heartened by the fact that he is a doer rather than a sayer because this problem requires new thinking and somebody to lead the HSE away from its current way of thinking. It was a mistake at the time to strip Monaghan General Hospital of all services because it has a genuine role to play and I would not be wasting the Minister of State's time if I thought otherwise. I would like him to visit with an open mind and look at the facilities available, including the state-of-the-art operating theatre and the minor injuries unit, to get an idea of the hospital's potential. Such a visit would be worthwhile and lead someone like the Minister of State to drive the HSE to change and look at things afresh. It must look again at smaller hospitals such as Monaghan General Hospital and the positive role they could play in helping to reduce the heartache associated with hospital waiting lists and patients on trolleys.