David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Gloster certainly will have our support in that.

Regarding winter plans, our experience over recent years is that they have been window-dressing, giving a sense, when there is an emergency, that things are being pulled together and additional resources made available. There are different views on whether they work. We are now dealing with an all-year-around problem in emergency departments. Mr. Gloster referred to an all-year-around plan. We need rapid decision-making. We see it in some hospitals, Waterford being one example, with decisions being made very quickly. That is good management. However, we are not seeing that right across the board.

We also need capacity. One of the issues that is raised with us constantly by hospital managers and representative bodies, including the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, is the lack of bed capacity. In the past two budgets, there was no additional funding for new beds. In budget 2021, there was a funding allocation for 1,147 beds, some of which are still undelivered but may be delivered this year. Looking to the challenge for next year, we see there is no allocation for additional beds in the most recent budget. How are we going to meet the challenge we face next summer and winter? We had a trolley crisis last summer. From where will the additional beds come? Will Mr. Gloster be seeking extra funding to put in additional capacity during the summer months, by way of modular build or otherwise, to ensure we have more beds in the system next winter? If we have the same number of beds, we will have the same problems and challenges.