Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. I would like to get into the detail. We can go back and forth and make political points, and I am sure we will have plenty of time to do that, but the reality is that we are facing into a winter where a very serious flu is working its way across the world towards us. I heard the Minister this morning quite rightly encouraging people to get the flu vaccine.

Last year was a crisis. This year there already have been more than 10,000 women and men aged over 75 years on trolleys for more than 24 hours. It is a crisis. We are already at overcrowding levels way beyond anything which was seen ten, 20 or 30 years ago.

What is different about this year's winter plan compared to that for last year? A winter plan last year had some limited success, but it was not enough even based on what is happening in our emergency departments today. What is different and better about the winter plan for this year? Does the Minister believe it will work? Why will it work this year when things did not work during the summer? What is different about it that will mean we will not see this crisis continue through the winter?

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