Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is clearly a case to be made for a second emergency department. It is why I have asked HIQA to conduct a review specifically looking at that question. The straight answer is that there is clearly an argument to be made. However, there is nuance to it which HIQA needs to look at. If we look at the amount of additional bed capacity we are adding that is already in and that is now in train, it is the equivalent of adding two new hospitals to the mid-west. However, speaking directly to the Deputy's point, with all of that, there is not a second emergency department coming. The mid-west is the only region of the six that has one emergency department. UHL stands out from most of the rest of the country because while there has been a very big increase in the number of people coming into our emergency departments, across the country there has been a really important reduction in the number of people on trolleys in the vast majority of our hospitals, although not in every hospital. UHL really stands out as having moved very rapidly in the opposite direction. There is clearly something different about UHL. It is entirely possible that-----