Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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On the issue of the health service and on looking back on the figures from the HSE, on a point of information, staffing costs were less than one third of non-pay costs in relation to the overrun. While we have been talking in generalities here, in the case of my local hospital, Letterkenny University Hospital, the number of people waiting over 18 months has increased by 17% since the start of the year. Every single day last year, an average of 19 people lay on hospital trolleys. Within metres of them lying on those trolleys is a 19-bed ward lying empty, which the management of the hospital want opened. It will cost €1.8 million in staffing costs to open that ward. The ward is available and it used to be open. It was closed under the Government's watch, and it is continually refusing to open it, indirectly, by not funding the HSE appropriately. The Minister can say that we do not need any additional money to deal with some areas of the health service. The reason people will lie on trolleys is that people like the Minister decide not to fund the health service adequately. Consequently, the HSE cannot make the €1.8 million available to enable management to recruit the staff necessary to open that ward. The management has stated it will not have a challenge in meeting those recruitment requirements. This is replicated right across the system. Does the Minister accept that he is in a privileged position, albeit one in which he has to make decisions? As we heard from Deputy Broughan, the Minister is borrowing €350 million to-----