Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

While some of the steps outlined by the Minister in his response are indeed required, nevertheless he has not indicated in his reply the importance of providing adequate staffing. I did not note it in the reply he has read into the record of the House. It is very important to recognise that the crisis that has presented in recent weeks across our acute hospital network, is continuing. I have noted that the INMO trolley watch yesterday indicated 431 people on trolleys. There is a continuing suspension of elective day case surgery at a number of sites, including at the Louth County Hospital in Dundalk, where the staffing resources at that hospital are being redeployed to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, in order to prioritise urgent patient care and surgery there. This decision is to be reviewed on a weekly basis. That problem is continuing and I have provided one example.

I refer to the situation of the impending work to rule which no one wants to see happen. The nurses do not want to take these decisions. It is critical that appropriate steps are taken to recognise the complexity of the situation and the need for all elements to be progressed.

In conclusion, we discussed the matter in the Joint Committee on Health and Children last Thursday when the Minister and the director general of the HSE came before us. We did not on that occasion have the information that was revealed yesterday by the Minister's colleague regarding an expected further difficulty because of the exodus of some 1,000 nurses between now and June. I ask the Minister to outline to the House exactly what action he is taking to address the chronic shortage of nurses, both in terms of acute hospitals and the needs of the psychiatric hospitals.

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