Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commit to getting a note on haemodialysis. The following is relevant to all members and goes to the heart of this. The Deputy asked will it be a question of which region shouts the loudest. The region, quite rightly, that has had the biggest per capita increase in investment in healthcare in the time of this Government is the mid-west. The region that has had the biggest increase in beds per capita is the mid-west. The region that has had the biggest increase in healthcare staff, quite rightly, is the mid-west. The region that gets the greatest allocation in the 3,000 bed plan, quite rightly, is the mid-west. Ms Broderick can spare her shouting for operational matters in the mid-west because this Government has acknowledged - and I openly acknowledge it - there was under-resourcing in the mid-west relative to other regions. We are not just addressing that, as we must. By the time we finish, it will have the second highest number of hospital beds per capita of any region. The Deputy's question goes right to the heart of some of the problems in the mid-west and what we are doing about them.