Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

While I appreciate the various efforts that are being made in the meantime, my main concern is that no date has been provided for the opening of the emergency department. I cannot understand why a date cannot be provided given that the building is complete, the fit-out is ongoing and recruitment is under way. The reason given by the Minister of State is that deep cleaning, commissioning and training of staff in new equipment are required. I do not see how this cannot be completed by May. The timetable for opening the new facility has been public for a long time and thus far the project has proceeded in accordance with that timetable. I again call on the Minister to indicate that the emergency department will open in May, as intended.

The issue appears to be the additional €1.4 million allocated to facilitate the opening of the new emergency department this year. I appreciate the Minister of State may not be in a position to answer my question.

Is €1.4 million sufficient to run the unit from May to the end of the year, including in terms of staff and so on? If not, we need an additional allocation. As I said, because of overcrowding in this unit, there is terrible suffering by patients and staff.

According to the fire chief, he will have to take enforcement action if things do not improve, which is a serious undertaking in terms of his duty as fire chief. I hope that this will concentrate minds on the need to ensure that there is adequate funding to enable this unit to open in May. I do not accept that deep cleaning, commissioning and training of staff will take more time than is available between now and May. I would welcome any assurance the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, could give me in this regard. I hope that the Minister, Deputy Harris, will give us an answer soon. If additional funding is the issue, the amount required being not that large in the scheme of things it needs to be found.

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