Mr. Tony O'Brien:

Deputy Conway is correct. When I consider the numbers, I do not see a single national problem but 28 individual sets of circumstances, all of which have different potential solutions. The latter range from increased access to diagnostic radiology procedures, so patients are not being admitted in order to have them, to different access for general practitioners. To quote that great philosopher Eamon Dunphy when he spoke of football: "It is a game played on grass, not on paper." This is why the real focus is now on very targeted interventions in each of the 28 hospitals. The focus is to be on the particular choke points in each. I am also seeking to be realistic because we cannot make trolleys disappear. Our aim is to make sure that this coming winter will be better than last winter, at a minimum. Ideally, we desire a return to 2013 levels. Even at that level, there would still be more people on trolleys than any of us would wish for.