Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 25 January 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Emergency Department Overcrowding: Discussion

1:30 pm

Mr. Liam Woods:

Absolutely. From an internal HSE perspective, I would see it as a priority. In respect of the point the Senator makes about things being shovel ready, we can show him technically what will happen there and we will do so. The mid-term review is tied into the overall Government process. The Senator's observations around the number of schoolchildren, teachers, desks and schools are well made. The capacity study under way in the Department and work we will do to support that will look at articulating the requirement around the moving demographic in terms of the scale and, in particular, the ageing element of that and what it means to the balance-----