HSE capital plan and Cork hospital
Senator Daly sought a Ministerial response on alleged HSE interference with the capital plan and raised concerns about ambulance handovers and system failures at Cork University Hospital. The exchange became dominated by attempts to pin down the source of the allegations, with the Chair repeatedly insisting he should not name people.
Will the Leader ask the Minister for Health to come to the House to deal with the allegations of some interference with the capital plan by the HSE in what it was putting together? While there is considerable input, the restructuring of the capital plan to benefit some and not benefit all is an issue of concern. There is lack of clarity about this. I do not want to go further on it; I just want to ask the Minister to come to the House to provide clarity and to discuss the capital plan.
Obviously those of us from Kerry welcome the announcement of a new hospital in Cork to provide acute care. Regarding that acute care, as the Leader knows very well, simple systems failure, which we frequently discuss in this House, can lead to up to six ambulances waiting to hand over patients at the accident and emergency department in Cork. Paramedics tell me that they can be there for two or three hours.
Comment on this
Which accident and emergency department?
Comment on this
It is Cork University Hospital.
It happens time and again. The paramedics are sitting around with acute-care patients sitting in the ambulances waiting to be handed over. It is a pure systems failure. Meanwhile people are in dire need waiting for an ambulance to come to them. That is a systems failure that needs to be rectified. It does not require money; it just requires improved systems.
I know the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, is working on issues relating to Stormont today. Of course, the issue of the Border has come up again. The UK Cabinet, which we know is split, seems to be rowing back on the agreement on the Border that it signed up to in December. The British do not want to be in the customs union; they want to have their cake and eat it. It now appears that the Irish Government will have to fight again.
The legislation that is supposed to come from Europe to put into legal effect the agreement signed up to by the UK in December which will clarify what is meant by having by no divergence is supremely critical to the Border. I have explained, as many others have, that many Westminster Members of Parliament and Members of the House of Lords have come over here and asked us for our ideas; they simply do not have any because they do not know where they want to get to in this Brexit journey.
Whatever agreement and legal text on what happens with the Border comes out of Europe in March is absolutely critical because that is the framework for the remainder of the negotiations between the EU and the UK. The British were asleep at the wheel because they thought there would be a fudge allowing them to rumble on and solve it later. However, there are Border issues on how trade will be conducted and what will be in or out of any agreement between the North and the South. The DUP's insistence that there be no divergence between Northern Ireland and Britain would mean that there would be no divergence between Ireland and the UK which means in essence there would be no divergence between the UK and the EU. At that point one has to ask what the purpose of Brexit is if it is for no divergence on all the issues and the UK has to sign up for all the issues and the customs union.
Time and again it startles me when I meet Members of Parliament from Westminster who do not even know the basics. To see the British Cabinet meet for two days over what its position is on Brexit is nothing short of startling.
I want the Minister for Health to come to the House to discuss the capital plan and the allegations. We all know that allegations are made by the media and others all the time. We want clarity on issues raised yesterday in the newspapers about interference.
Comment on this
If the Senator has something specific to say, he should say it.
Comment on this
It is in relation to interference by people in the HSE.
Comment on this
-----I want to respect the rules of the House and I think the Chair would tell me I am not allowed to make any allegations.
Comment on this
For once, I shall obey the rules of the House.
Comment on this
Despite provocation by the Leader to break the rules, I will not do so.
Comment on this
The Senator wants us to debate an allegation or a rumour. What is it? That is the best Kerryman joke I have heard in a long time.
Comment on this
I want to respect the rules of the House.
Comment on this
The Senator talked about a rumour and an allegation.