Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive reply. It is to be hoped it will cover the issues I have in mind. One such issue, which the Minister of State anticipated in her response, is that of the person who has to visit a hospital and does not receive the treatment he or she requires, is not attended to and spends up to 20 hours or two days on a trolley and nothing happens. We cannot stand over that. It flies in the face of Sláintecare. We should have dealt with this at the previous meeting. We need to put in place the fundamentals of Sláintecare and give it the imprimaturof Sláintecare as well. I am not sure if people understand the point I am making. I may, perhaps, not be making a very clear case. I have sat with parents in hospitals while their child with a disability did not receive treatment. I am sure I am not the only one of the members here who has had to do that. We did that on the basis of needs must. I am concerned the Minister cannot intervene.