asked the Minister for Health the hospitals which have only one specialist anaesthetic unit.

I presume the Deputy is referring to hospital units which have only one consultant anaesthetist. There are six such hospitals, namely Roscommon, Clonmel, Cavan, Monaghan, Nass and Loughlinstown.

There are problems in providing a satisfactory level of on-going consultant care in these hospitals and this issue is being considered at present in discussion between my Department and the Faculty of Anaesthetists.

Will the Minister say whether the Faculty of Anaesthetists have informed the Minister that in their opinion patients are at risk in these hospitals at times when operations are carried out and there is no qualified consultant anaesthetist present, and trainees are in charge of administering the anaesthetic?

As Deputy Molloy is aware, he placed questions to the Minister for Health on Tuesday, 9 February 1988 in relation to this matter. The Minister gave a very detailed explanation to the Deputy on that occasion.

Will the Minister agree that the Faculty of Anaesthetists have expressed their concern to the Minister and to the officials in his Department that patients' lives are being put at risk in the hospitals the Minister has named?

I would refer again to the question of 9 February from Deputy Molloy.

I am aware of that answer.

At that stage the Minister outlined the situation regarding the Faculty of Anaesthetists. The Minister said he did not accept the implication that good specialist anaesthetists practicing in this country are inadequate because they do not hold the qualification of Fellow of the Faculty of Anaesthetists and that the faculty itself had claimed on a number of occasions that they knew of some unqualified anaesthetists working in hospitals whom they had described as being dangerous and a risk to patients and that the Department had asked the faculty for details of these cases so that they could be investigated but that the faculty had refused to give the names.

A final supplementary, please.

Will the Minister say if representatives of the faculty had a meeting with the Minister and his officials last week to express the same view?

I understand that there was a meeting last week in relation to this.

One of the hospitals is Roscommon hospital.

Question No. 12.

Sorry, a Cheann Comhairle——

I have called the next question.

In view of the risk to patients' lives arising from the concern expressed by the consultants involved, I would ask for permission to raise this matter on the Adjournment.

I will communicate with the Deputy.