Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge there are far too many people on trolleys and chairs in hospitals who should be in beds in rooms. Some progress has been made in the area and there are now 13% fewer people on trolleys than was the case this time last year. Although there are still too many on trolleys, there are significantly fewer than in 2016. We are now spending more on healthcare in general than we have ever spent and we have a very significant capital investment programme that was outlined in our ten-year capital strategy for health provision, particularly with respect to hospital infrastructure. We will see improvements over time with more investment and better management.

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