Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like other colleagues, I extend a welcome to the Minister. I acknowledge the number of times he, as a senior Minister, comes here to the Seanad to inform Senators and address us. He gives us a lot of time here. No matter what side of the House we are on, we appreciate and acknowledge that.

I welcome his recent statement on capital investments. Like other members, I pay tribute to the Minister and his staff because he is a Minister who has simply put his head down with his officials to get work done. He is getting the job done, and that is the consensus I am getting all over the country. I will be very open and strong about this, as we give credit where credit is due. As others have said, health is not an easy Ministry, not by any means. However, I always admire the way the Minister puts his head down, deals with and tries to sort out issues, meets groups, and tries to deliver to every part of the country.

It is good to see counties like Roscommon and Galway being acknowledged by the Minister and his officials, and I appreciate the amount of money which has been given for the new 50-bed unit at the Sacred Heart Hospital and Care Home in Roscommon, which has been granted planning permission. I know we are probably going to have a Commencement matter on that in the House in the coming weeks to update the people of the area. That is very significant, particularly for a county which has a high percentage of old people.

I also acknowledge the Minister's absolute support for the new rehabilitation unit, which will be the only one in this country outside of Dún Laoghaire, is a ten-bed unit, and will be attached to our hospital in Roscommon. I know that when the Minister attended that hospital with me in November 2021 and met the people there, he was highly impressed with what they are doing. This rehabilitation unit - the quicker it comes, the better - will be highly important to the people of the mid-west, west and north west. As the Minister knows, there is a big waiting list for the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire, and people from all parts of the country have to get there. It is a fabulous centre and the people there do fabulous work. However, something closer to the doorstep for people in other parts of the country is very important. One thing I want to see through is that national rehabilitation unit.

On other areas like cancer care, I know that with regard to Portiuncula hospital in Ballinasloe - which is in my own area - there is a commitment to that and the new developments going on there. There will be new moneys for that place as well and for what is going on at University Hospital Galway, because that is very important to the people of Roscommon as well. There is also the Minister's support for all that is going on in urology. I know he has met with the consultant urologist, Mr. Eamonn Rogers, and he hopes to meet with the Minister again. Mr. Rogers and his people tell me that they are very impressed with the way the Minister is moving on that issue, and the way in which he and his officials have funded it. It is way ahead of most of our European counterparts, they tell me. They are highly impressed with that programme in Roscommon, and because of the support the Minister and his officials have given in funding it totally, it means they can develop whole new projects in that particular area. There is going to be a growing issue there as the years go ahead, and it is really important to see those funds.

I welcome the Minister's absolute commitment to his Ministry and the way he engages with us all and takes on board the issues which we bring to him. I look forward to having him back in the Roscommon-Galway region in the not-too-distant future to visit some of those areas and projects.