Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

This day last week we had the largest recorded number of patients sitting on chairs and lying on trolleys, waiting to be admitted to beds and receive treatment in accident and emergency units throughout the country. The previous occasion on which numbers were close to that was in 2006. Last Wednesday, the numbers reached 500 and four years ago it was 495. On that occasion, the Minister for Health declared a national emergency, but she did not declare any emergency last Wednesday. On umpteen occasions the Minister has declared that she would sort out the accident and emergency problems, but clearly she has not done so. These are not just statistics - they are ordinary citizens, generally elderly people. They are all sick, having suffered in one way or another and are awaiting emergency treatment. They should not be sitting in such appalling conditions, waiting for long periods - very often overnight or two nights in a row - without any changing or proper toilet facilities. It is appalling in this day and age. It is not good enough that this situation should be continuing now, without any alleviation over the past ten years. We are raising the issue to impress upon the Minister that accident and emergency is the interface between the patient and hospital services. Unless this is improved we are subjecting our most vulnerable citizens to the most appalling treatment facilities. They receive excellent treatment when they get into the hospital proper, but the interface stage is absolutely atrocious. I do not know what it means for the Minister to declare a national emergency, but she should take this matter seriously. During the last floods, a section of the accident and emergency unit in my own local hospital, the Mater, fell down and is now in an even worse condition than it was before.

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