Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

With no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, once again the Minister for Health has not showed up. This is my thirteenth attempt to get him to respond to this topical issue matter and four times I have asked him to respond to a similar question. He has not turned up on any of those occasions. That is not good enough.

I have tabled many questions on the University Hospital in Limerick but I do not seem to get answers. Today 64 people are on trolleys in Limerick. There were 66 yesterday. Last Monday there were 80 and in February almost 1,000. There will probably be more than 1,000 in March and there is no solution in sight. In recent months 13% of those on trolleys have been in Limerick University Hospital. It is a new hospital and before it was opened I tabled a topical issue matter because the nurses in the INMO were concerned that more than 24 people would be on trolleys there every day. At that time another Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, deputised for the Minister whose excuse was that he was at the hustings to elect a new leader for the party. Deputy McGrath said: "there is no basis for any suggestion that 24 patients will be accommodated on trolleys in the new emergency department". Unfortunately, now we almost wish it was only 24 because every day there has been more. What Deputy McGrath said is completely untrue. In 2018 there have been only two days when there have been 24 or fewer on trolleys, 22 and 23. The core problem in the hospital stems from the merger of Nenagh, St. John's and Ennis accident and emergency departments into one so-called centre of excellence in Dooradoyle in Limerick.

We know that a 96 bed project will be delivered in some years' time. What will the Minister do in the meantime? Additional beds should be opened immediately in Ennis, St. John's and Nenagh.

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