Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I can tell the Taoiseach why Olivia is still in one of only three intensive care unit beds in Cavan General Hospital. She is there unnecessarily and is aware of that. She is very distressed by it. The reason she is there is that the HSE, despite the medical advice and view that she ought to go home, refuses to fund the home care package.

I beg to differ with the Taoiseach. It is incredibly appropriate that he would address himself to Olivia and her family, and do so beyond statistics and figures. This is a young mother who is very sick. She has a six year old and a seven year old and for the past seven months they have been in and out of hospital, playing at her bedside. She wants to, and can, go home. The single barrier between her and her home and family is the HSE and its failure to fund the requisite care. I ask the Taoiseach, as the head of the Government and as a person, to give a commitment today that he will ensure the HSE will release the funds required in order that Olivia can go home.

She is a sick woman who has asked me, as a matter of last resort, to ask the Taoiseach to intervene and ensure the right thing is done.

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