Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

He also stated:

When it comes to a decision on the three options, it is not one I can make on my own; it must be done in conjunction with the Cabinet committee on health and the Economic Management Council. All members of the Cabinet committee and the EMC are fully apprised of the situation and have been since November.

My first question to the Tánaiste is whether the Minister for Health is being isolated by the EMC. That is something she will appreciate because prior to her elevation to the position of Tánaiste she felt, as Minister for Social Protection, that she was on the periphery of decisions that were made. In light of her own experience I hope she will have some reassuring words for the Minister for Health and assist him with his dilemma.

Will there be a Revised Estimate to assist the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, in dealing with the very difficult situation in which elderly patients find themselves in our acute hospitals?

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