Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Portiuncula Hospital has had a net reduction of about eight beds because, as the Deputy said, of the impact of Covid-19 and the desire to prevent the spread of the virus throughout the hospital, and to have sufficient isolation facilities for suspected cases and any particular case the hospital has of a patient with Covid. The Deputy is correct that the number of presentations at emergency departments is back more or less to where it was prior to Covid. It has been steadily increasing in all acute hospitals.

That poses significant challenges over the coming months because, on the one hand, we want to resume services, and non-Covid services in particular, as best we can. Clearly, however, living with Covid and with Covid ever present, we will have to develop innovative approaches to make sure we keep emergency department attendances much lower than would have been acceptable in previous times. Where hospitals' capacity was at 95% prior to Covid, which is too high in any event in emergency departments in terms of overcrowding, the ideal figure will be reduced to 80% to facilitate the management of any spike in numbers or surge in that regard.

We are very conscious of that. The HSE is developing a plan — it should be published by the end of the month — in regard to its strategy on resuming services and dealing with the crunch issue of overcrowding, particularly in the emergency departments.

See this speech in context