Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. It beggars belief, however, and is unacceptable. First, I emphasise the tremendous work the staff at Letterkenny University Hospital perform on a daily basis. It is completely unfair that their work and effort is met, as it has been in the Dáil this evening, by the absolute failure of the Government to get to grips with its responsibility to ensure the planning and support is in place so that they can do the job they do their best to perform every day.

The Minister of State said he is delighted that €40 million is available to ease the pressure on hospitals. He also said he is aware that a proposal for additional beds in Letterkenny had been submitted to the HSE and that this proposal would be assessed by the HSE in line with current financial and procurement processes, with a decision made thereafter. The HSE and the Government have had this proposal since June. We are in the middle of winter and the Minister says it will be assessed and considered as part of due process. He said he wishes to acknowledged the distress from long waiting times for patients in emergency departments. We do not want the Minister of State to tell us that he acknowledges people's distress. We want the Government to deal with the matter in order to ensure that people are not distressed.

The hospital in Letterkenny put forward a clear proposal to provide 20 additional beds which would greatly help deal with overcrowding and people having to wait on trolleys every day for admission. Fortunately, when the rehab patients return to St. Conal's after Christmas there will be the physical space in the hospital to provide those 20 beds. Not every other hospital in the country has that capacity. The Government, however, cannot get its act together - even after six months - to provide the funding required to put staff in place for this purpose. It is totally unacceptable.

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