Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My question centres on capacity. A lack of capacity is what we are talking about here all of the time. We saw the power of the media the other night, which has brought us all to this place today and we need to get this situation sorted out. Last year at Sligo University Hospital, 220 operations were cancelled on more than one occasion. There were multiple cancellations and this is happening all over the country, with people who are waiting on procedures being pushed back again and again. There are empty beds in Sligo hospital. There is a ward available with the beds already in it. What we need is the staff to run that ward. Will the Minister commit to providing staff for Sligo University Hospital? Yesterday, there were 18 people on trolleys in the accident and emergency department and seven people on trolleys in wards awaiting admission. We have a crisis and that is just one hospital. Sligo University Hospital is providing an excellent service. The staff are doing a tremendous job but there are simply not enough front-line staff there. Will the Minister commit to ensuring that before the end of the year additional staff will be employed to open that empty ward?

See this speech in context