I want to raise very serious concerns about Kerry University Hospital and health services in general in County Kerry. As the Minister may be aware, since the first week in June of this year all scheduled operations at Kerry University Hospital have been cancelled. The only operations that take place are emergency operations. To put it simply, if a person is waiting for a hip or knee operation, or any other scheduled operation, he or she must continue to wait.

That is a disgrace at a time when I am very worried about the future status of the hospital, in spite of assurances given at a meeting last week that it would retain its university hospital status. The departure of an ever-increasing number of consultants and what I consider to be the continuous downgrading by HSE management of the hospital leave me extremely worried.

I take the opportunity to compliment the hard-working staff in the emergency department and the hospital wards who do everything they can to help their patients. Those who avail of the services provided in the hospital are grateful to and thankful for the individuals working in it. However, I have marched with nurses and doctors working in emergency departments who have stated they want the Government to wake up and realise the pressure they are under. I have been in such departments late at night and early in the morning. During the summer recess I spent a lot of time in the departments because I wanted to have first-hand knowledge of what was going on in them. I have a perfect understanding of the difficulties and pressures the staff are under. Does the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, have such an understanding?

The notion which originated in this House many years ago that the Minister for Health does not have responsibility for the health service is rubbish. The buck stops with the Minister and the Government, not the HSE. The hiding behind layers of bureaucracy must end. People must take responsibility. The Minister for Health must take responsibility for the fact that people are endlessly waiting for operations. He must sit down with the heads of other Departments and discuss what can be done to tackle the problem. I wish to give an example. Why is it that a person waiting for a tonsillectomy must wait three years for the procedure to be carried out in this State and that I can arrange for the procedure to be carried out for a person who presents today with that requirement in Belfast in the first couple of weeks of November? For God's sake, this is not Outer Mongolia or some such place when it comes to health services. We should not be telling people that their tonsils will be fixed in three years time. Anyone who knows how uncomfortable it is to have such a problem will know that it is ridiculous for such a person to be told that there is a three-year wait. Why is this being allowed to happen on the Government's watch?

Another esteemed Deputy from County Kerry yesterday raised the issue of University Hospital Kerry and was invited by the Taoiseach who did not yesterday have specific information on that hospital to meet him to discuss the issue. I do not have specific information on the hospital, but on behalf of the Taoiseach extend an invitation to the Deputy to join his brother, Deputy Danny Healy-Rae, and meet the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, on the issue.

In general terms, I mentioned earlier that we were in a recovering economy, which is a good place to be. It is because of that that the Government is investing in health services and focusing on meeting needs, building capacity, investing in infrastructure, implementing the new GP contract and delivering a ten-year reform programme based on the Sláintecare report of the all-party committee. We are building new major infrastructure, including the national children's hospital and the new maternity hospital. Such facilities will be the hallmarks of a modern health system. The national development plan commits capital funding to deliver 2,600 additional hospital beds, 4,500 additional community care beds, as recommended in the capacity review, and three new elective hospitals. Some or many of these measures will feed into the county Deputy Michael Healy-Rae represents and improve outcomes for patients and those living in it. I reiterate that the invitation of the Taoiseach stands. I ask that the Deputy bring specific details of the issues he has raised in regard to University Hospital Kerry to the attention of the Minister and the Taoiseach who I am sure will be happy to discuss the matter with him.

The responses given by the Minister and the Taoiseach are outdated. I have already brought the problems to the attention of the Minister for Health. I have brought specialists from County Kerry to sit down with the Minister and outline the problems. However, to date, the Minister, the Department and the Government have failed to do what they are supposed to do, which is to take care of sick people. The Government is not taking care of people who are in distress and awaiting knee or hip replacement operations; rather, it is telling them that they have to wait endlessly. Were it not for the great service provided under the treatment abroad scheme, many people would go blind. Last weekend I arranged for 14 people to travel in a bus to the North to undergo cataract operations. It is ridiculous to have to do this. It is great that the service is available. However, rather than it only being necessary to avail of it to undergo cataract surgery, people will have to travel abroad for todnsillectomies and hip and knee replacement operations. For God's sake, are we going to tell people not to get sick in Ireland because they will have to travel to hospitals in the North for treatment? It is absolutely ridiculous. It is being allowed to happen by the Government and its Ministers. They must wake up to the problems on the ground and, please, do something to help those who are ill.

National statistics compiled from information from hospitals such as those in County Kerry indicate that the waiting list for cataract treatment has reduced by 2,734 in the past year and, in particular, that there has been a reduction of 3,000 in the category waiting over nine months.

They have all gone to Belfast.

Some 400 new beds were introduced in the system between 2013 and 2017, while 240 were introduced last year. An extra €1.35 million has been allocated to the Healthy Ireland fund to enable and encourage people to take care of their health. The Deputy facetiously referred to expecting people not to become sick. However, the Healthy Ireland programme aims to empower people to look after their good health to ensure they will not get sick. An additional €7.1 million has been allocated to improve ambulance services. The GP training intake rose by 194, in particular in rural GP practices. All of this indicates that we are planning for and investing in the future. With respect, all we can do is ensure the funding, programme and management are present in the HSE to provide for citizens. That is what Sláintecare is doing. That is what the money and personnel that will be invested to produce the roadmap for Sláintecare will do.

With respect, the Minister has not answered any of my questions.

May I finish?

The Minister has not answered my questions.

I have answered the Deputy's questions. I will conclude by saying if he has specific concerns about Galway hospital-----

Kerry hospital.

-----I invite him to attend the meeting with his brother and the Taoiseach.

I am not from Galway.