Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My difficulty is that those opposite have been in government for more than three years. Some of the promises they made prior to the most recent general election were quite outlandish. The Minister highlighted the provision of health care, which is essential for emergency departments to work, and he also referred to the home help service. In the context of the latter, the number of home help hours has been slashed by 1 million. Some of what he says just does not match up to reality. For example, he has prioritised the notion of people being cared for outside acute hospital settings and in primary care settings or at home, but this is simply not happening as a result of the fact that the requisite resources are not being provided. The National Association of General Practitioners, NAGP, the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, advocacy and patient groups and Deputies on all sides have all highlighted the fact that general practice is facing a crisis. However, the Minister is talking about having those with chronic illnesses cared for in general practices throughout the country. As he and I both know, that is not happening because those in general practice have not been given the resources necessary to keep people with chronic illnesses out of our acute hospitals.

We were obliged to almost force the Government to fund home care packages. Such packages constitute a very proactive mechanism to ensure people can move, on a step-down basis, from acute hospital settings to their own homes, where they can then receive treatment and care. These packages are an integral part of the solution to the problem of taking people out of emergency departments and hospitals in general. The report in respect of University Hospital Limerick highlights the fact that there are huge deficiencies in the area of safety alone. What I find most amazing is that on the many occasions when Deputies on this side of the House and front-line medical professionals at the hospital have highlighted the fact that there is overcrowding at the emergency department in Limerick, that patients' safety is being put at risk and that the staff there are operating under huge pressure, the Minister has continually denied that this is the case. The HIQA report confirms everything that has been said, including by those on the front line, in respect of this matter. That report must be acted upon immediately. The difficulty is that I do not believe the Minister is capable of acting upon it.

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