James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

It is now three years since the Minister, Deputy Harney, declared the problems in accident and emergency should be treated as a national emergency. She set up an accident and emergency task force and its report was published in June 2007, notwithstanding the fact it was completed in 2006. It set a date of 1 February 2007 to have determined a timeframe from which a maximum wait of six hours from arrival at accident and emergency to admission or discharge will apply.

What the Minister has just told us beggars belief. She is trying to tell us the situation has improved. The INO figures show it has not improved, but has disimproved. At one stage last month there were 398 people on trolleys. In the last week a very ill patient of mine sat on a chair for 18 hours awaiting admission and was then put onto a trolley. I do not know how many more hours she spent on a trolley because I have not checked.

We get answers saying everything is fine and hunky dorey, and things are moving apace, but the reality for people on the ground is different. At one stage some weeks ago, 50 people were on trolleys in accident and emergency in Beaumont Hospital. Let us deal with reality.

Instead of talking about what she might do in the future, why does the Minister not use the existing beds available in the greater Dublin area for long-term care and alleviate the congestion? I have a newspaper article from last which refers to an approximately 50% increase in "bed-blockers", as it pejoratively refers to them. They are people who are inappropriately trapped in wards. Up to 757 patients a week cannot get discharged because there is nowhere for them to go. That is what is causing the backlog in accident and emergency departments. That matter is not being addressed. I wish to ask the Minister a simple, straightforward question. Why are we not using the existing long-term care beds that are available in the greater Dublin area to alleviate the problems of accident and emergency departments in Dublin?

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