Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We know that the Minister is not personally responsible for the management of Tallaght hospital, but the situation there is a disgrace. Only University Hospital Galway had more people waiting in September and nearly one in ten people on the national list of those who have been waiting for 18 months or longer is in Tallaght. It is fine to comment on and identify these matters, but what the public wants is something to be done about them.

When discussing health, Deputies and politicians more generally often refer to millions of euro being spent, numbers of patients on waiting lists and percentages. The reality is that we are referring to human beings who, in many instances, are enduring suffering, pain and loss of participation in society and work because of these delays, which must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

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