Health: Roscommon Fianna Fáil TD Michael Finneran has claimed that proposals to move certain services from Roscommon General Hospital will not now go ahead, following assurances from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Mr Finneran last month said he would reconsider standing for the party if proposals by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to remove certain surgical ser-vices from the hospital proceeded.
He said the plans as proposed by the HSE would amount to a downgrading of the hospital, which was contrary to Government policy.
"I met the Taoiseach yesterday [ Monday] to discuss the issue and he acknowledged to me that there was a Government decision in 1998 to have the hospital upgraded," he said. "The proposals from the HSE run contrary to Government policy, and they are not going to happen."
The future of Roscommon hospital and a number of other health facilities around the country was yesterday raised by Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators with Maureen Lynott, adviser to the head of the HSE, Prof Brendan Drumm.
Ms Lynott was a guest speaker at the second day of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party's meeting in Westport.
She told the politicians during a closed session that there were two major issues that needed to be addressed in the health service.
The first related to accident and emergency; she said this was being tackled at present.
However, she also told the politicians that in order to see significant health reform and improvements stated Government health policy would have to be implemented.
This included a new consultants' contract, a new GPs' contract, and rationalisation of specialist services into major centres.
She also told the meeting that the issue of improving health services was not a matter of money but management.
She said there was considerable differences in the performances of certain hospitals in terms of the number of waiting list times, and other measures of efficiency.
The meeting also received a report from Tipperary North TD Maire Hoctor on the parliamentary party's special meeting on health, social welfare and education in July.
She said primary areas of concern for TDs and Senators related to the levels of specialist services in their areas, the need for additional bed spaces, especially step-down facilities, and tackling the accident and emergency situation.
TDs and Senators also raised the issue of the lack of pension provision for nearly one million workers.