I thank the Minister of State from being here. She is from the relevant Department, and I appreciate it. That should be the norm in this House. It used to be. An exceptional piece of journalism was published last week by the Limerick Leader. The front page article spoke about the catastrophic failures in University Hospital Limerick, UHL, which we have discussed in the House. No other topic have I discussed more in my political career. The picture on the front page shows four young women. I compliment the journalist, Ms Sandra Quinn, and the Limerick Leader for what they put out. Sometimes a visual says more than words. The story is about Ms Aoife Johnston and Ms Niamh McNally, both 16, Ms Eve Cleary, 21, and Ms Leona Cusack, who was 33. They all died because of what is going on in UHL. I will say something of the Government with all the positivity I can. I know what I am talking about. I have spoken about my family in the Dáil on numerous occasions. I have spoken about my dad, the anniversary of whose passing was two days ago. He did not want to go into UHL. I have spoken about my neighbours and friends. I spoke recently about a situation where I had to ring and somebody in the HSE told me once I got on the motorway to go to Portlaoise hospital, which I did. That was an emergency and the patient got fantastic service. The Government has a huge decision to make. In fairness, the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has said she will make that decision next week. She met mid-west Deputies and Senators two weeks ago. Unfortunately, for some reason, Deputy Sheehan and I were not invited so I must raise the issue on the floor of the Dáil. The HIQA report was not necessary, but we have it because Mr. Gerry Burke, who was the former lead clinical consultant in UHL, did all the statistics ten years ago. The situation has only got worse. Even in terms of the HIQA report, the census data is out of date. We are totally discriminated against. If you look at the south east, which the Minister of State is very familiar with, there are three model 4 hospitals in Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny. There is also one in south Tipperary. We have one. That is not sustainable. The idea that the people in Clare, Limerick and north Tipperary have only one accident and emergency for 450,000 people is insane. The only decision that can be made next week, along with option A of the 96-bed block and option B of building a 100-bed unit nearby, is to make the decision long term. We need ambition to have a model 3 or model 4 hospital in the mid-west. Anything else will continue this discrimination and I will not be part of another generation of politicians who stand up in this House and accept that. It is discrimination. My phone was ringing all weekend about cases in Limerick. Despite the new 96-bed block, the numbers there are 110 on trolleys and 31,000 on waiting lists. We have a worrying situation where consultants, because of the working conditions, are leaving. I urge the Minister of State to give the Christmas news everybody in Tipperary, Limerick, Clare and even parts of north Cork want to hear and that is that we will do all the short- and medium-term planning and we will look again at the pathways regarding minor injury units and open them up as well as open up community services but for God's sake, we need another hospital in the mid-west. It is as plain as the nose on my face. Any other decision is discrimination and is totally wrong. I will be the first person to stand up and congratulate the Minister of State if she delivers it.

Sentiment score: -0.03

I thank the Minister of State for her response and I acknowledge the improvements that have happened in UHL in the past couple of years. However, we have serious issues when it comes to staffing and high-level consultants as regards attracting them, given the situation the hospital is in. Politics has failed the people of the mid-west on this issue. I am not going to start blaming certain parties but politics has failed across this House. Consultants helped drive the agenda to close the units in Ennis, St. John's and Nenagh. Then, they disappeared off the face of the earth and were never found again. Politics now has to come back and fix it. This Chamber has to fix it; the Minister of State's Department has to fix it. We cannot fail the people of the mid-west continuously as we head into Christmas again, with people who live alongside me afraid. We cannot fail the families of these four poor women and others. I could give the Minister of State hundreds of examples of issues there. The Minister of State spoke about the volume of beds required, which I absolutely accept but how in the name of God can we create those beds without creating a new hospital? I am not even arguing for Nenagh, Ennis or wherever; I just want a decision that we need a new hospital in the mid-west - an access point with beds and critical infrastructure. We cannot go on the way we are. We need that ambition and I am afraid this is being choreographed, that the decision being made next week will be options A and B but not C. I have no issue with option B as long as that decision to create another 100 beds has a hospital wrapped around it in years to come. The Minister for public expenditure is from the Minister of State's party. I urge the Ministers for Health and public expenditure, Deputies Carroll MacNeill and Chambers, in the next week before the Cabinet decision is made - it has to be made because the Minister has promised it - that this decision will be long term and that we will create a new model 3 or 4 hospital in the mid-west to end the discrimination and fear. There are people who will not go into UHL because of the fear they have and the situation we have been left in.

Sentiment score: 0.08