I am glad to get the opportunity to raise with the Minister of State the proposed opening of the new Killarney community nursing home, which has been completed for over 12 months. There is a lot of frustration in the region, the town and all around it with the delay in opening it. As I said, it has been completed for over 12 months. The lights were on there every night through the winter. The heating has been on and everything, and people are wondering. Councillor Maura Healy-Rae brought a motion to the area meeting some days ago and she was supported by her fellow councillors. Each of them has often asked why there is a delay, what is happening and why it is not opening. There is a conflict in relation to the proposed staffing of the hospital. It will require a lot of extra staffing. The INMO said recently that the HSE has not engaged with it regarding the staffing issues. In recent days, a senior HSE official said the HSE is engaging with the INMO every week. Someone is right and someone is wrong, or maybe both are wrong, or maybe both are right, but at the same time, the hospital has not been opened. So much is contingent on this hospital opening. The present district hospital in Killarney and St. Columbanus home are practically together. The long-stay patients in St. Columbanus home are to be moved to the new hospital to make way for a primary care clinic. The old district hospital is to make way for respite for elderly people and, as I understand it, elderly people in care are entitled to four weeks of respite. Many people did not get that in our area last year. We also have a minor injuries clinic. That is to be in St. Columbanus home, the respite is to be in the district hospital, and we do not yet know where the primary care clinic is going to be. They are all contingent on each other. Does the Minister of State know when the hospital will open? Does he know if there is engagement between the nurses' union and the HSE? God almighty, the amount of money that the HSE has got in this year's budget alone. The worry is that it has come out in recent days to say there is an embargo on hiring staff in the south west. We are in the south west and I hope this is not going to hit or hurt our hospital opening. As I said to the Minister of State, there is ambivalence about who meets whom, but they certainly need to meet each other and we need to get the hospital open. I am asking the Minister of State to give me an answer about what is happening, if he can.
Sentiment score: 0.05
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I have worries and questions about how this will be opened on a phased basis. Is the Minister of State saying to me that 101 beds will open at the start? When will the other 29 beds open? I can see right away that there will be a requirement for new staff if we are moving the staff out of the St. Columbanus home and then out of the district hospital. I do not know where the differences in the statements from the INMO and the senior official in the HSE came from but the Minister of State seems to be adamant that they have been talking. It would be remiss of me if I did not mention this tonight but I want to thank the staff in the district hospital and who are in the St. Columbanus home at the minute for the great care and attention that they have given to patients in both places back over the years, including all the different members of staff who served there and did so well. I thank each and every one of them. However, I am looking forward because, like I said to the Minister of State, there is deep frustration in the area as to what is wrong and why it is not open. It has been added to by the story from the HSE that there is an embargo in hiring staff in the south west for the rest of this year. It is true that it has come out and said that. I hope that it will not hurt us in Killarney in any way because we have waited long enough. We have waited for the minor injuries clinic. We have been asking for it for over ten years, as well as the primary care clinic and the respite that so many carers deserve. People could not go on a week's holiday last summer because they had no place to get their parent, or in some cases a brother and a sister, into. I am asking for special attention for Killarney because we have waited long enough.
Sentiment score: 0.19
I thank the Minister of State. I was asked to ask him if some official from the HSE could meet with the councillors from the Killarney electoral area?
Sentiment score: 0.18