Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge all the positive indicators that have been outlined regarding hospital waiting lists. A reduction of 4% is very welcome. The indications that we will have a further reduction this year are also very welcome because it has been the other way for far too long. This is the first time the Minister has appeared before the committee since the major incident that was declared in University Hospital Limerick, UHL, just before New Year's Day. I want to give the Minister the opportunity to give us a brief update on what has been happening at the hospital since then. Unfortunately, the number of people on trolleys is going in the wrong direction. There are too many people on trolleys in UHL, and they are on those trolleys for too long. It is not going in the way we want to see it going and, as far as I am concerned, this is not acceptable. I know the Minister does not believe it is acceptable either. What is the current situation at UHL?