I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue and I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House to respond to my questions.
In his recommendations in Chapter 16 of the report into the affairs of the BTSB, Mr. Justice Finlay made two specific recommendations to which I want to refer. He said that those elements of the development plan for the Blood Transfusion Service Board should be undertaken immediately and completed before the target date of 1999. He then went on specifically to recommend the following: "Appropriate renewal of the premises and equipment in the Cork unit, whether by major overhaul and reconstruction or by the provision of new premises, should also be immediately commenced". Mr. Justice Finlay went on to make various recommendations in relation to the Irish Medicines Board about its capacity and duty to inspect the premises of the BTSB and to carry out regular inspections. The Minister of State will recall that it was the failure of the predecessor of the Irish Medicines Board to carry out some inspections which was partly responsible for the fact that we did not earlier become aware of some of the difficulties being experienced in the BTSB.
In his response to the tribunal report on 20 March last, the then Minister, Deputy Noonan, committed the Government to completing the development plan before the target date of 1999. He stated: "Likewise the renewal or replacement of the BTSB unit in Cork will be commenced immediately".
I am informed that on 7 or 8 October last, the Cork unit of the BTSB was informed by the Irish Medicines Board, following an inspection, that it would not be in a position to renew its licence. I understand the Cork unit supplies most of the hospitals in the Munster area as well as providing a backup service in the event that the Dublin service cannot provide the appropriate services required. I understand the Cork unit has a substantial donor base. The unit employs approximately 100 people but it has long been accepted that the accommodation being provided for the service in Cork is less than adequate.
Can the Minister assure me that this money will be provided to ensure that the unit in Cork does not have to be closed? My understanding is that no money has been provided in the 1997 Estimates. Will the Minister assure the House either that a Supplementary Estimate will be brought forward immediately or that the money will be provided in the 1998 Estimates, specifically and most urgently for the unit in Cork but also for the completion of the programme as a whole?
I would also ask the Minister to assure me he is committed to continuing the decentralised service as well as continuing it separately in Cork. Surveys of experience abroad suggest that if one closes an immediately convenient service one cannot hope to replace the same donor base, in this case, for example, in Dublin.
I call on the Minister to restate the commitment given by the former Minister for Health, Deputy Noonan, to fund and complete the development plan before the target date of 1999.
