Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In preparing for this winter, that is what we have been trying to do, not just this week but from the end of last year. Resources have been deployed and we took the advice of the task force on how we could relieve pressure on accident and emergency units. It advised us to provide more resources for the fair deal scheme and we provided €44 million in additional money for that this year. We introduced a specific initiative on waiting lists, costing another €51 million, and allocated another €30 million to delayed discharges and another €10 million for a winter initiative. In total, €135 million in additional money, which we have yet to vote on in this House by way of a Supplementary Estimate but will do by the end of this year, has already been deployed in order to relieve pressures in this area.

The question of staffing was mentioned. My job as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is to make sure we get a result from the significant and scarce resources we deploy in every area of public expenditure. We have employed 5,235 additional staff in the HSE since the beginning of 2014.

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