Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach tried to get away with it, and he has been trying to get away with health for the past three to four years. He has neglected it as a priority in government. This is fundamentally why all records were broken last week with regard to accident and emergency departments. There has been no consistent and persistent application to the issues which occur and which will continue to occur. The Taoiseach tried to get away with it by cutting it short and he got caught. I am not worried about the Taoiseach getting caught; I am worried about the more fundamental question of whether he can guarantee patient safety in the overcrowded scenarios which occur in accident and emergency departments throughout the country, as happened last week and this week and which will happen in the coming weeks. Will the Taoiseach guarantee it? Does he accept they were not safe for the patients concerned? Elderly people and people with serious conditions were in armchairs and there was a potential risk of cross infection.

See this speech in context