Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Obviously, the shortage of nurses is feeding into the lack of supply of theatre services. Are theatres closed because hospitals cannot recruit sufficient numbers of theatre nurses? It feeds down through the system, with a backlog of surgical cases backing down into emergency departments. What is happening in emergency departments is just a symptom of what is happening in the health service. Because of what is happening elsewhere in the health service, community services and the supply of beds and recruitment, people end up in emergency departments unnecessarily and inappropriately in some cases. Their progress through the emergency department is then limited because of the lack of bed capacity and recruitment. I ask Ms Ní Sheaghdha to comment on these issues.