Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will all be aware of the severe overcrowding in our emergency departments. I am sure the Minister is aware of the case of a woman in her 80s who had to wait on a trolley in Limerick for four and a half days last week. Her daughter said that she was moved around and had to lie under a glove dispenser while people tried to get gloves. I think we can all agree that nobody wants to see so many people waiting and such a level of suffering having to be endured. We have never seen anything like it in Ireland. Why is this still happening, in spite of enormous increases in budgets? When will the winter initiative be brought in?

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