John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is very promising. As always when the Minister of State comes to this House, she has come with a fair and balanced view. I greatly appreciate the outcome she outlined. What is needed is a fundamental review of the services in Louth and Meath with a view to finding out why they are different from elsewhere.

To be clear for the record, in Laois, Cavan and Monaghan, public health nurses provide that pain management, whereas in Louth and Meath, it is still managed by clinical nurse specialists, who are a tier above that. Why is that happening? Why do people have to return to a hospital to die, rather than have a public health nurse administer palliative and end-of-life treatment? It is deeply upsetting for the many people who have to go through this. People want to die at home, surrounded by their friends, family and loved ones. They want to die in an area where they are comfortable. As part of the cancer strategy, we have to provide that for everyone, but there is a clear discrepancy whereby people in my county, Louth, and my town, Dundalk, are being severely discriminated against compared with people living across the county border in Cavan, Monaghan and elsewhere in CHO 8. I would appreciate if that discrepancy were rectified.