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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 4 Jul 1968

Vol. 236 No. 3

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Health Regions.

89.

asked the Minister for Health if he has any information which he can give to the Dáil with reference to the proposed new health regions; and, if so, if he will now give details.

As indicated in paragraph 131 of the White Paper, the details of the proposed regions would not be put before the House until the principle of establishing them has been accepted by the enactment of forthcoming legislation.

In deciding on the details of the regions, regard will be had to the recommendations on regionalisation in the recently-published Report of the Consultative Council on the General Hospital Services. These recommendations will have to be examined in the light of what might be best for the administration of other health services and of more general concepts of regionalisation for other purposes. The eventual determination of the details of the regions will be subject to approval by the Houses of the Oireachtas.

I do not want to get into any argument with the Minister but I just want to clear this matter. A few weeks ago I asked a supplementary question on a question by Deputy O'Connell about this. The Minister assured me that he then had no information whatever about the regions. He subsequently wrote to confirm that that was so. Last week, I asked him in the House if it was true that, in fact, details of the regions were in his possession and that he proposed to have a press conference on Friday last? He said details were not in his possession but that he proposed to have a press conference on something else. A press conference was held and the information given would suggest that the full information about the regions must be in the possession of the Department of Health. Otherwise, the decision to locate hospitals in certain areas would be stupid in the extreme. The question I want to ask is: is it the intention of the Minister for Health to set up those regions and to have everything cut and dried before a packet deal is put before this House and the representatives of the local authorities, who are vitally affected by the decision, left completely in the dark until the House gets something put before it and they are told: "Take it or leave it"?

No. I want to make it clear. The Deputy is confusing the recommendations of the Consultative Council with the general concept of regionalisation. Certainly, there are proposals by the Consultative Council, as the Deputy knows, in regard to regionalisation for hospital administration purposes only, but I have said in my reply that the proposals that I will put to the House in regard to regionalisation will be decided in the light of what the Members of the House think and in the light of considerations about planning generally because regionalisation covers other matters than the general hospital services. I hope that makes the situation clear.

It does make it slightly clearer. May I ask this further question? If the Minister says that the only consideration at present is the regionalisation of the hospital services, is it not correct to say that if he is regionalising the hospital services, he must be regionalising the health areas covered by these hospitals, and is it not true that, if he does that, it can mean that County Meath, for instance, can be split in two and, as rumour has it, one-half tied to Tullamore and the other tied to Drogheda, and the local authority members who have been elected to administer that area, including the Health Committee members, of whom I am one, will not be aware of it until it comes to the floor of this House? Is that the situation because, if it is, I think the rights of the people are being trampled on? I also think that the suggestion made by the Minister for Local Government that he did not want to break up constituencies and counties is absolute nonsense.

We cannot have a speech.

This is an important matter.

I know it is, but we cannot have a speech.

If we had not speeches on the other matter, it would have been dealt with long ago. I want an answer before you call the next question.

The paper said the Department had approved of it last week.

I agree with Deputy Tully that this is an important matter. Again, may I reiterate that the proposals in the recent report concern the administration of the general hospital services and they suggest certain regions? There is also a proposal in the White Paper for the abolition of local health authorities altogether. I think the House will accept at this stage that the general principle of regionalisation of the health services generally, not just the administration of the hospital services, has been accepted.

It has been accepted by the Government?

No; I think the principle has been accepted by the House.

By the Government?

Have the regions been accepted by the Government?

Will the Minister tell us if all the districts mentioned in the report last week will get a regional and general hospital? Tralee has had a very inadequate hospital for a long time and there are hundreds of patients on a waiting list for surgical treatment.

That is a separate question.

If we can go back to the question raised by Deputy Tully, I would be glad to deal with Deputy Spring's question again. The question of regionalisation has not been settled.

Has not been?

Has not been.

Will the Minister not admit that if the hospitals have been settled, the natural thing is to settle the regions on the hospitals?

All I said at the press conference was that the Government had accepted in principle, not in detail, the recommendations.

Have the Government accepted in principle that the regional hospitals will be situated where stated in last week's paper.

The Government have not accepted anything in detail.

That was stated at the press conference.

The Minister told me——

Question No. 90.

Excuse me: the Minister told me a few weeks ago that he gave approval to the county council to purchase a site for a new hospital. I hope he is not backing out of that.

I must say I agree with that. I hope not.

These are details that do not arise at the moment. Question No. 90.

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