Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that the Minister is in the Chamber because it is an important issue. This is a major crisis in accident and emergency departments and it is important that the Minister understands that. There is a national emergency. I am not talking up this issue. This has gone on for many years, but in recent days and weeks there has been a massive problem in the accident and emergency services.

The first point I would make to the Minister is that his brief is that of Minister for Health. He should focus on health and the Members in this House will support him when it comes to supporting services in the health service. It is important that the Minister gets that message.

I also attended the protest outside the gate of Leinster House and I met the nurses. They all are concerned about hospital overcrowding, but they also have solutions. They have been presenting solutions to many of us for the past number of months.

We must deal with the capacity issue. There is a shortage of beds and resources have to go into staffing the health service and providing the beds. If we deal with the issue by providing in region of 600 beds, it would have a major impact. We need to focus on that issue. I hear Ministers state there are other issues, that it is this, that and the other. It is a capacity issue; it is a beds issue. That is the important point in starting to implement solutions.

It is easy for us to come in here and try to score political points, but I do not want to be jumping up and down, as it were, about people on trolleys, as the Minister's predecessor, the Minister, Deputy Reilly, did when in opposition during the term of the previous Government. I want solutions and I want the Minister to listen to the solutions provided.

We also must focus on and think about patients. There is a considerable personal cost on patients when they sleep on trolleys or chairs. They lose their personal dignity and they lose a lot of the social networks.

I would say to the Minister to focus on the issue, which is capacity, beds and resources, and he will have the support of Opposition Members. When it comes to tax cuts for the wealthy, the Government should park those and give the funding to those in the hospitals.

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