Dáil debates

Thursday, 14 May 2020

Covid-19 (Health) - Statements

 

4:20 pm

Photo of Kieran O'DonnellKieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Feighan.

First, like everyone else, I sympathise with the families of the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters or whoever who have lost their lives through Covid-19.

I will take up an issue in Limerick, which I represent. The Minister will be fully aware that we have had a capacity issue over a long time in University Hospital Limerick. Over the past week, the numbers presenting on trolleys are out of line with other areas in the country; on average, there was 28 over the past week. Today, there are 42 - 22 on trolleys and 20 not quite on corridors but in isolated areas. Nevertheless, there is a capacity issue. A 60-bed unit is being built. A total of 24 beds are being provided under the Minister's initiative relating to the Covid-19 response UHL, with a further 24 beds in Croom orthopaedic hospital. He might give an update as to when he expects that they will come into operation. People are beginning to present with non-Covid-19 issues. This is becoming a significant issue for us, particularly in Limerick and the mid-west. It is something I feel strongly about. I have been campaigning for additional beds for many years. The Minister might give a perspective on the status of the 60 beds. More acutely, where are the 48 beds for UHL and Croom? They are to come on stream as part of the Covid-19 response.

More generally, many businesses are looking to reopen but they want to open safely. Public health has very much taken up the area of public health safety. I commend the Government on how it dealt with containing the virus but as we move into a phase where we will be living with this coronavirus for a period, how do we manage it?

What changes to the dynamic does the Minister foresee in public health in terms of proactively advising on reopening businesses in a safe manner, taking the need to control the virus into account? The virus will be there. We need to get people back to work and back to normal life, get children back to school and so forth. Perhaps the Minister might address that. I also ask him to deal specifically with University Hospital Limerick, where today 42 people are on trolleys.

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