asked the Minister for Health if he will state (a) the present patrons, officers, and members of the Board of Governors of the institution known as the Royal National Hospital for Consumption in Ireland; (b) the members of the staff (active and seconded) of the institution; (c) the mode of admission to the institution, and (d) the total amount of grants received by it from the Hospitals Trust Fund in each of the years since the enactment of the Public Hospitals Act, 1933.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Royal National Hospital for Consumption.
The matters referred to at (a) and (b) in the question are not matters for which I have responsibility.
In regard to (c), the mode of admission of patients to the private part of the hospital, consisting of 21 beds, is outside the scope of my responsibility. Admission to the remaining portion of the hospital, consisting of 158 beds, shortly to be increased to 198 beds by the opening of the second of the two new 40-bed units, is from a waiting list consisting of names furnished to the hospital authorities by local authorities.
The information at (d) is being prepared and I hope to be in a position to furnish it to the Deputy, if he will be good enough to repeat the question in a week's time.
In regard to (a) and (b) in the question, I feel I should point out that this institution is only one of a large number of voluntary hospitals, religious and lay, operating with the assistance of capital and/or annual grants from the Hospitals Trust Fund and I do not consider that it is in the public interest that the particulars requested under these heads should be the subject of inquiry by Parliamentary Question in regard to any of these voluntary hospitals in the absence of an indication of an adequate reason for seeking the information. The particular hospital now in question publishes the information requested at (a) in its annual reports, issued to subscribers, and I am sure the authorities of that hospital would be glad to forward copies to any interested inquirer. The Deputy is aware, however, that the number of persons who are prepared to devote their time and energies to charitable works from motives of pure altruism is small and is likely to decrease rather than to increase if their names are given the limelight of publicity in this House.
With further reference to (b), I feel sure that, even if the matter of staffing were my responsibility, the Deputy would not, on reconsideration, expect me, without specific cause assigned, to burden the records of the House with a full list of the names of the medical, nursing, clinical and domestic staff, 133 approximately in number. Lest the Deputy should feel, however, that I am attempting to conceal any relevant information, I may say that my position as a member of the medical staff of the hospital is still as set out in the reply to the question addressed to the Taoiseach by Deputy Beegan on 28th July, 1948, namely, that the authorities of the hospital have granted me leave without pay, the duration of which has now been extended to the 31st March, 1950.