David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday the Taoiseach let the mask slip again in his latest attack on nurses and doctors in what was a vindictive attempt to shift the blame for hospital overcrowding away from him and his track record as Minister for Health, the performance of the Minister for Health and the Government. He attempted to put the blame on the shoulders of front-line staff in hospitals - nurses and doctors. There are moments when we see the true character of the Taoiseach in his attitude to workers and others. We got a glimpse of it when he was Minister for Social Protection. We all recall his welfare cheats crusade which turned out to be a ball of smoke and a publicity stunt, but it hurt many in receipt of welfare payments. We also saw it when he exposed his attitude to workers when he proposed in the run-up to the Fine Gael leadership election a Thatcherite ban on striking. We saw it again yesterday. It was little wonder when he was confronted with his record and that of his party in dealing with hospital overcrowding that he sought to shift the blame away from his performance onto the shoulders of hardworking nurses and doctors.

To be clear with the Minister and the Government, nurses' and doctors' leave is not the problem. It does not contribute to the problem of patients languishing on trolleys and hospital overcrowding. It is not why almost 1 million patients are waiting to see a hospital consultant or why we see record numbers of patients lying on trolleys in acute hospitals every day of the week. There are thousands, many of whom are older people who need support. The problem is the lack of capacity in public health services and the difficulty in recruiting and retaining front-line staff. The majority know that when they get into the system, they receive a very good service. That is because of the professionalism of front-line staff - nurses and doctors - and despite the fact that the Government has not invested in the public health service. It was appropriate and right that nurses and doctors pushed back against the Taoiseach's narrative yesterday because it was deeply unfair.

We all know in our constituencies - I can give the example of University Hospital Waterford - that when there are major problems in the emergency department, the people who must try their best to make sure patients are treated as quickly as possible are the nurses and doctors. The Government should stop blaming others for its failures. The Taoiseach should stop blaming front-line health workers for the problems in the health service. What plan will the Government put in place to deal with overcrowding? It should forget about blaming the nurses and doctors. What is its solution? What are the increased investment strategies which will be put in place to make sure patients will not have to languish on hospital trolleys in the coming weeks and months?

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