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

The Minister's response does not give us much comfort. He says we have a realistic budget which is on course and on target. If that is so, then my concern is that the Minister is saying that having 550 people on trolleys in emergency departments on a daily basis and people waiting 12 and 14 weeks for a bed under the fair deal scheme is acceptable. Surely these numbers do not represent a budget that is on target? In truth, it is a wholly inadequate service and the idea that it might get a little better at some stage and we should proceed on a wing and a prayer is not good enough.

There must be a sustained attempt to address the fundamental problems in our health service, including emergency department overcrowding. We must tackle delayed discharges if we are to address that issue, as acknowledged by the Minister and by the former national director of acute hospitals, Dr. Tony O'Connell, who resigned at the start of the year. The latter warned of the threats to patient safety as a consequence of overcrowding. The trundling acceptance that there is a difficulty without actually dealing with it is the major problem. The time for lethargy is past and we must now have a redoubling of effort.

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