Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Since this matter was raised yesterday, approximately 3,300 people have been through the accident and emergency facilities. Thankfully, 90% of those people did not require trolleys but unfortunately 10% did. I regret that some people are spending several days on trolleys. It shows the system is not as perfect as we would like as we would like it to be 100%. I outlined to the House yesterday the hospitals where this problem is particularly acute and where long delays occur. I also pointed out that facilities have been improved in many areas. New facilities in Cork University Hospital opened last week which are two and a half times the size of the existing accident and emergency department. I opened facilities at Roscommon County Hospital earlier this year and facilities have been opened at Naas General Hospital. The new facilities at James Connolly Memorial Hospital have been described as one of the best accident and emergency departments in Europe.

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