asked the Minister for Health whether he is yet in a position to give his decision on the proposal for the use of the Naas Fever Hospital for tubercular patients.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Naas Fever Hospital.
I can assure the Deputy that I am most anxious that a solution be found to the problem of providing institutional treatment for all tuberculosis patients in County Kildare who require such treatment. As I informed him, however, on the 12th December last, in reply to a similar question, I considered it necessary, before arriving at a decision on the proposal in regard to the County Fever Hospital, Naas, to seek an explanation from the local authority of the extraordinary increase which occurred since last June in the number of Kildare patients in need of institutional treatment. I regret to say that the necessary information, sought in my Department's communication of 24th August, was not furnished by the local authority and has only now become available as a result of an investigation carried out by a medical inspector of my Department. I am considering the inspector's report and shall give a decision on the local authority's proposal within a few days.
Does the Minister not think that the reason for the increase is mobile mass radiography?
No. That would have been quite an understandable explanation. That was not the explanation. We found from investigation that it really occurred without an explanation. However, we are considering it now.