Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the issue of the health services in south Tipperary, particularly at South Tipperary General Hospital and Limerick Regional Hospital. Some 42 people are on trolleys today, so this is ongoing. There is talk about modular building and all the rest but we cannot get the nurses. We talk about ethnic minorities. People of all ethnic status and none are languishing in queues while the staff are under appalling pressure, although they do tremendous work. There is now €17 billion of a health budget yet front-line services are getting worse, despite some good outcomes. Nurses, doctors and GPs will not stay because of the appalling conditions and the constant pressure. We keep talking about it but it is getting worse, day by day. We are not near winter yet, or even autumn, and we have these queues, having had them all summer. It will reach a crisis point. A modular unit is to be built three miles out the road but where are we going to get staff for it? The Government should please do something for people all over the country, the people of Tipperary in particular. People are waiting 52 months for orthodontic treatment. It is a mess.

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