Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)

The reality is they are not available. People are still lying on trolleys and it is no good telling them that if they come back next week they will get a bed. That is the problem.

There are not 800 extra beds in the system. I got a reply from the HSE a month ago which indicated that there were less than 650 new beds in the system since 2001, the exact figure promised by the Government by the end of 2002. The Minister of State cannot simply make these figures up as he goes along. He cannot say there are 800 this week and 900 next week when they do not exist. There are only 650 extra beds.

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