I listened to Government speakers and they failed to justify this Government decision. I listened to two Ministers of State and three back benchers criticising the Minister tonight. They expressed their concern and opposition to what he was doing. The Minister himself and his Minister of State are the only two Members who defended the action.
We in Fianna Fáil have presented a very worthwhile case in a very reasoned and objective way, without any bias. As Deputy Andrews said, this is a political motion. It is important to recognise that we are not playing party politics with this motion because it is not an occasion for party politics. The welfare of patients is at risk and there are people in this House tonight whose livelihood and jobs are at risk. I appeal to Government Deputies to consider the patients and the staff when they vote on this motion because the amendment is very clearly in favour of closing the hospitals.
The Minister of State, Deputy Donnellan, said many people did not understand what was happening, and I certainly agree with him. As an example of why we do not understand what is happening, I will quote an answer from the Minister for Health to a question in this House one week before the closure was announced. On 22 January on Question No. 13 the Minister was asked what financial provision he had made for the implementation of the report on the psychiatric services, Planning for the Future. He said:
The health boards are now developing detailed plans for their areas in accordance with the guidelines given in the report. The present stage in planning is concerned with determining the location and types of facilities which will be required to provide a service which is essentially community based. The capital and other requirements will depend on the outcome of this planning process.
That announcement was made one week before the Minister came her to make his announcement, and one day after the budget. I am satisfied that this is the result of a decision made at a Cabinet meeting. It was a precipitous decision without any care or concern shown for patients, relatives or staff. This is very obvious because one week after giving that answer the Minister came here and told us he was closing these hospitals — not a change of use. The Minister showed no concern for the patients or their relatives in the catchment areas of the eight hospitals concerned, and for people throughout the country. Now people are afraid because they do not know which hospital will be closed next.
In fairness to the Minister I will say this: he went out and defended what was a Government decision at a time when Fine Gael Members and Fine Gael councillors the length and breadth of the country were saying that a Labour Minister did this; it was not a Fine Gael decision. It was a Government decision and the amendment makes this very clear: it states that this is to give effect to policy decisions. The Minister says he is entering into consultations but this amendment is to give effect to policy decisions, and the policy announced here by the Minister on 30 January was that these hospitals were due for closure in 1986.
He reiterated that last night when he told us he was funding these hospitals for the first six months of this year. In other words, these hospitals will have to close at the end of June 1986. That is the Minister's decision. He also told us last night that consultation meant there would be no change. That is the most serious attack on democracy I have heard since I came into this House. It is a dictatorial attitude. We have a Bill before this House in the name of the same Minister which will give him the power to close any unit or any hospital he likes without reference to anybody. We must bear that in mind. That is another good reason why Government members should support our motion.
My colleagues, in a very unbiased and balanced way, have dealt with the various hospitals, including St. Patrick's, Templehill, but there was no answer from the Minister. He had no answer to our questions about the hospital in Killarney, not even a question of change of use. It too is going to be closed. Roscrea hospital, whose patients should be integrated into the community, will also be closed. The psychiatric hospitals, which are of major concern, were dealt with admirably tonight by Deputy Leyden and by a number of speakers from the catchment areas of those hospitals.
No alternative arrangements have been made. No alternative arrangements can be made before the end of June, and that was pointed out by Government speakers, Deputy Crotty in particular. I ask the Minister to remember that a very important study on schizophrenia is being carried out in three hospitals in this country, two of them being St. Patrick's, Castlerea, and St. Dympna's, Carlow. This is another very good reason why the Minister should not have interfered with these hospitals. As I said, no alternative arrangements have been made, except that 30 patients out of over 200 will be catered for in Swinford. That is the only alternative which may come on stream in 1986. Last night the Minister told us alternative arrangements were made in relation to Carlow, but he did not tell us what they were. We know there are no alternative arrangements made for Carlow.
We in Fianna Fáil fully support this document, Psychiatric Services — Planning for the Future, and Government members said they too supported it. Everything the Government are doing at present is in total conflict with that document. On radio and television the Minister quoted two lines of that document saying that the programme should begin immediately. Of course it should, but under the programme the first step is to set up community care facilities which are vital and necessary before discharging patients from hospitals. There is not one word in what the Minister or his Minister of State said there to night to show they are doing anything, apart from providing 30 places in Swinford. That is the only alternative arrangement made for 600 patients who will be thrown out of hospital before the end of this year.
Not only members of Fianna Fáil, Government backbenchers and the two Ministers of State who spoke here tonight, but members of the health boards, the hospital staff and many members of the public who have shown their support at meetings held throughout the country all support that document. Nobody is complaining about the closure of these hospitals in the future, in ten or 15 years when alternative facilities are provided. If it is a question of party politics, why are all of these other people complaining? This document suggests that there should be a phased programme of development over ten to 15 years, and we fully support that. When the programme is in operation we will be prepared to close the hospitals, but we must make sure that people who have been in hospital for 15 or 20 years will remain in the same hospital for the rest of their lives. That is recommended in the report. Nowhere does the report say that hospitals should be closed this year.
Various Government speakers support our motion and I ask them to vote for it because, as I said, the Government's amendment is very clear. They are asking for time to negotiate with the health boards and to give effect to their policy decisions. Their policy is to close these hospitals. That is what the Government have decided and it is what their amendment states they will do. There is no point in Members coming in here and saying they were delighted to hear the Minister say last night that he would negotiate. What he said last night was that he was funding the hospitals for six months only.
I ask Members on the other side to come into the lobby with us to ensure that this vicious decision of the Government will not be implemented and to ensure that we do our duty in caring for the mentally ill and the other patients in the hospitals concerned. It will not bring down the Government. They can have a vote of confidence after they are defeated, but Members will be doing justice to the less privileged in our society.