Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is something we have looked at. We were in the middle of a significant increase in capacity in the hospital. The increased capacity and reforms worked in a lot of other hospitals. If we had been sitting here this time last year, forgive me if the figure is wrong, but I think there was a reduction of approximately 16% in trolleys and a significant reduction in waiting lists. It was working last year, and something went badly wrong this year, which is why I responded with a review. The Deputy has heard my view on the 2009 reconfiguration. The clinical advice on closing the emergency departments seems to be solid. It came from HIQA and was backed up by the clinicians who said they were not safe. I believe the extra capacity that should have been added at the time was not added. By any fair measure, over the past four years we are adding that capacity. Almost 300 beds have been added to UHL.

I turn to Senator Conway's question on the HIQA review. That was my decision. Of course, I consulted with the Department and the HSE. Everyone is open to this.