Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation's conference is being held in Killarney this week and the issue of health services is very much to the fore at that conference. The general secretary of that organisation, Liam Doran, has raised the issue of trolleys and the fact hospital managements in some hospitals are deliberately misleading the trolley count and are hiding trolleys with patients on them to ensure the trolley count is reduced to comply with the Government's intentions and public relations strategy. Does the Tánaiste accept the veracity of Mr. Doran's comments that managements are under such pressure from the Government to reduce the trolley count that they are intentionally hiding trolleys to ensure there is a reduction? It is easy to reduce the trolley count if one is hiding them from the counting process.

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