Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

During the course of the general election last February, the Minister stated that his party would put in place an emergency plan to accommodate the predictable surge in activity that occurs every winter. According to the figures for Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda, 842 patients spent time on trolleys in that hospital in September. The figure for the previous September was 331 which, unacceptable as the situation was under the stewardship of Fianna Fáil, implies an increase of 154% in the utilisation of trolleys in the hospital. How will the Minister address an impending winter crisis against the backdrop of that serious increase in trolley usage without lifting the moratorium on front line service provider and addressing the crisis resulting from the closure of public hospital beds, an issue he once raised with regularity but has been in denial about since being appointed to office? The two issues are directly related to the crisis that I fear will reach unprecedented proportions this winter.

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