Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The status black escalation, as the Tánaiste knows, is essentially a declaration that a hospital is no longer safe. In Cork University Hospital, as I said, the position was unsafe for patients in the first instance but also for staff. Some of those staff, who have worked within the system for decades and up to 30 years, told us directly that they have never seen the like of this before. It was dangerous. I described the scenario for the Tánaiste, with ambulances lined up outside the hospital and one that I know of that waited for more than four hours to hand over a patient. This is a very serious accident waiting to happen and it is playing out on this Government's watch. I am advised that the actions described by the Tánaiste, including the various meetings, are standard procedure in any event for hospitals on a full capacity protocol. The Tánaiste has not described for us any kind of emergency intervention commensurate with the crisis that has unfolded at this hospital.

I ask the Tánaiste again what additional action this Government will take to intervene in the case of Cork University Hospital. When will he accept there is a capacity crisis within the system? What are the plans of the Minister for Health and the Government to address it?

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