Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 32 to discuss the following specific and important matter of public interest, namely, the urgent need for the Minister for Health and Children to indicate the current position that pertains in University College Hospital, Galway, where, in recent days, a wholly unsatisfactory situation has arisen, leaving as many as 40 people on trolleys inside and outside its accident and emergency unit, to indicate the reasons this position was arrived at, her explanations for same, her proposals to alleviate this unacceptable and dangerous position and her strategy to ensure it is not repeated; and the urgent importance that attaches to her reversal of the HSE's policy, which does not assure minimal standards for patients.

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