Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. He really has had a baptism of fire since becoming Minister for Health. He had no ministerial experience, and I do not mean that in any disrespectful way, but he has shown good leadership. He has settled very well into his brief. He is dealing with a lot of issues that had not been dealt with for years and particularly in relation to the National Maternity Hospital, he and his officials took a very wise road. Despite all of the assurances and reassurances given, he decided to pause the process for two weeks to allow for further consultation and clarification.

The creation of a new maternity hospital is the greatest infrastructural investment by the State in the area of women's health. It is going to provide world class facilities for women, girls and babies for generations to come. Women and infants have not been well treated and are not well served by the existing cramped facility at Holles Street which is no longer fit for purpose. The National Maternity Hospital and St. Vincent's University Hospital have worked together for decades. Approximately 40% of consultant staff at the National Maternity Hospital are employed by St. Vincent's and work between the two hospitals at present. The new hospital has very strong support from clinicians at the National Maternity Hospital. In relation to this debate and the clarifications, if we do not want to believe the Minister or his officials, surely we can believe the clinicians. For me, as a lay person and a politician, the clinicians clarified the situation over and over again. We should never forget that 52 clinicians at the hospital outlined the strong need for a new hospital. Of course, there are one or two people who are against the development going ahead but that means that around 90% are in favour, with 10% against. That is fine and people are entitled to their opinions.

I was talking to one clinician who gave me a briefing. She said that she was exhausted because despite all of the explanations, people would still not believe her. For me, the clinicians are the people who are dealing with this. They made statements over and over again. They took time out, spoke to the media, and met all of the groups that wanted to meet them. The Minister was right to pause the process but the people want this to move on now. That was the clear evidence I heard in my own part of the country and in other parts of the country. People are saying "let's move on now" and I am hopeful it will work and that everything will be fine.

Budget 2022 delivered an additional €31 million for women's health. This additional money provides a foundation for a fully funded action programme for women's health in 2022. The action plan will focus on improving the foundations of women's health by investing in policy implementation, tackling the issues that women have said they want to see improved and funding innovative new approaches to women's health. Budget 2022 saw the investment of almost €9 million in additional funding to ensure the continued implementation of the national maternity strategy beyond 2022, building on the significant investment of 2021. There are many other positives to which I can refer, including the continued improvement in our gynaecology services through the establishment of a further six ambulatory "see and treat" gynaecology clinics, bringing the total to 20 clinics nationally. The Government has also invested almost €9 million to fund access to contraception for women aged from 17 to 25 and an additional €5 million in the Women's Health Fund to fund innovative new approaches to women's health services nationwide.

I could go on but in conclusion, I want to acknowledge the support the Minister is giving to two very important projects in my own county. I thank him for his support for the building of a new 50-bed unit at Roscommon Sacred Heart Hospital and Care Home for our older generation, which is much needed and very welcome and a ten-bed rehabilitation unit at Roscommon University Hospital. The Minister is very much behind these projects and is progressing them by providing funds to ensure that they become a reality. Outside of Dún Laoghaire, Roscommon will be the only place in the State that will have such a facility. These are important developments for my part of the country. I am pleased that the Minister and his officials can see their importance. I will be working with them and the HSE to progress those projects as quickly as possible because they are so important. When the Minister visited Roscommon University Hospital last November he was highly impressed with the management and staff and with everything that was going on there. I welcome the fact that he is behind those projects and look forward to working closely with him and his officials on them into the future.