Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are not looking at 24-7 at present but only because the feedback from clinicians is there just would not be enough people coming in. An awful lot of people would be hired to sit there through the night doing very little. However, it is something we should always keep under advisement.

We talked about capacity. It is important to say that a large part of the solution now in UHL is reform. We must have senior decision-makers on site on Saturdays and Sundays and out of normal regular hours. That is what the whole public-only contract is about. We have to have better patient flow in the hospital. The Deputy will be aware that a new regional executive officer has been appointed. She is working on the ground in UHL. I believe there are changes benefiting patients. That can be seen in the data on the number of people in the emergency department versus up the house in the wards. There is a long way to go. The Government will continue to invest but we must see reforms in patient flow and working practices in UHL. To be blunt about it, we are not seeing them yet at the level we need to see them.