Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Ceann Comhairle said the response of the Opposition was intolerable. As somebody who sat on the Committee of Public Accounts Thursday last and listened to a complete litany of failure of governance, I find the Taoiseach's response intolerable but it is no doubt something we will return to later.

We should not need the nurses to take to the streets on strike, for only the second time in 100 years, to tell us that the health system is not safe. Prior to this strike action, which is being taken as a last resort, the nurses have repeatedly informed this Government and successive Governments, and the Minister for Health and his predecessors, including the Taoiseach, how precarious the situation was and remains given the absence of front-line staff. In August last, for example, the INMO figures showed that that month was the worst on record for overcrowding in hospitals across the country. Of course, we know the detrimental effects of this overcrowding. Dr. Fergal Hickey repeatedly tells us that, in any given year, 300 to 350 premature deaths are directly related to the time spent on a trolley. In response to these figures, the nurses took what action they could, stopping short of strike action at that point. They went out and protested. They were forced into this strike action. I give that background. Tomorrow, the GPs are going out on strike, telling us that their system is not working either.

My question is in the context of that background in Galway city where, in 2017, two theatres closed in Merlin Park. There was a high-level meeting in October following which we were told that serious action would be taken and modular theatres would be put in place. It is interesting that the two theatres were put out of action by rain. All the while, the Government is putting money into a rainy day fund, not for the health system, not for education or housing, but to bail out a financial crisis in the future.

Two theatres closed because of rain. I have a list here that I have not the time to go into. This is where trust and confidence comes into the system, as is the case with the children's hospital. Throughout 2018, other Deputies and I have repeatedly highlighted this. I was told in responses to questions that tender documents had gone out. I was told that contracts were to be signed. Here we are, in 2019, and the two theatres are still closed. The latest chapter in this saga is that a consultant has written to all Deputies in Galway in an unprecedented move on behalf of all his colleagues to tell us that the situation is exactly the same as it was in 2017. What has happened? When will the theatres be opened?

Almost one year ago the Taoiseach told me that he could not take a hands-on approach and that the people in charge were the Minister for Health and hospital management. One year later, there has been no progress whatsoever. It goes to the heart of the difficulty the Opposition has with the Taoiseach and his Government. There has been absolute spin and lack of trust in the answers. I want a clear answer today. What inquiries have been made by the Taoiseach or the Minister regarding the two theatres and when will they open?

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