Dr. Matthew Sadlier:

To answer Deputy Carthy's questions on information technology, the IT systems in Irish healthcare are abysmal. That is the only word one can use. Anyone walking in to most Irish hospitals will see we are using the same methods - paper and pen and cardboard charts that get filed - as were used in 1890. When patients come in to the emergency department, the only records we have of them are in a cardboard file that has to be dragged up from a basement. In the era of information technology, we could use collaborative working platforms. When we try to attend remote team meetings, as we all had to do overnight, we are not able to do so. There are information systems available that work very well.