Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I will leave it at that. I am gathering from that reply that there is not a definite plan as to where this is heading but there is a shift in trajectory. I am glad of that shift in trajectory but I believe we need a plan that says there is an end point in all of this.

My next question is on a similar theme. It relates to Covid and is more for the health side. There has been a lot of talk about the need to build the health capacity. ICU provision, for example, is a huge issue, where we are well below the European average. Hearing some things about the Delta variant, this could become a very live issue very soon. There are many deficiencies, including bed capacity running at much higher levels. We have less headroom. In looking at European averages, we should have 80% occupancy to have enough headroom in case of crises and emergencies, whereas we were operating at close to full capacity. In the aftermath of Covid, what is the plan? Is there a plan to significantly increase, for example, ICU capacity to something approximating average EU levels? Is there a plan to get to bed capacity where we will have the 80% occupancy and have the 20% headroom so we will not be in a situation where any emergency or crisis will suddenly push our health system to the limit? What is the Department working to in that regard? We have heard of figures in ICU going up to about 280, which is a little above what it was but still far short of what is in Germany or elsewhere.

Has there been any shift in what the Department is being told by Ministers about what our objectives are to build that capacity? I heard Dr. Fergal Hickey, a consultant in emergency medicine from Sligo, say he believed there had been no significant shift in accident and emergency investment, for example, despite the lessons of Covid. What do our guests understand has been the capital investment in capacity building in the health service in the aftermath of Covid to learn the lessons of Covid?

Is there investment in training, given that capacity is not just physical infrastructure but also trained people? In fact, it is probably one of the main limitations on our capacity in a number of areas such as mental health, a lack of consultants and allied health professionals and so on. What is the Department's understanding of the investment levels being increased to develop human capital, the human capacity we need to expand our health services? Is a change taking place and if so, where is it heading?