Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The issue of the fair deal scheme was raised by Deputy Micheál Martin. I wish to raise the issue of the shocking situation at South Tipperary General Hospital where 44 patients are on trolleys and the general manager - who I salute - and her full-time staff have asked people to stay away unless it is an emergency. In the hospital which provides services for the other half of County Tipperary, University Hospital Limerick, there are 56 patients on trolleys. A total of 100 people are languishing on trolleys in the hospitals that service Tipperary. Has the Government become immune to these figures? The situation in health is 800% worse than it was when the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, took over, but he is going to be allowed to ignore this issue, the people who are being put through this trauma and anguish and the staff who are under pressure. Is the Government going to do something about it? It is a shocking situation which indicates what the Government thinks of the people of County Tipperary - absolutely nothing.

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