Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question. I acknowledge the scale of the challenge facing our emergency departments in what will be a difficult winter. We all appreciate that many of our front-line staff are exhausted from the effects of the last 19 months. I thank our emergency department staff throughout the country for their ongoing commitment and their work.

It is accepted that acute bed capacity shortages in the mid-west are a contributor to overcrowding at the emergency department in University Hospital Limerick. The Deputy will be aware of the significant investment in University Hospital Limerick in recent years to address this, including a new emergency department which opened in 2017. A total of 132 additional beds have been provided in the past year, which I know the Deputy will welcome. It includes additional capacity in the new 60-bed ward; a 24-bed, single-room, rapid-build ward; and the reconfiguration of the 14-bed high dependency unit, HDU. In addition, the new 96-bed inpatient ward block, which is 4 x 24 beds, has now progressed through the detailed design stage and is due to go to tender in the coming weeks. While this is welcome and is having an impact, the increase in attendance in recent months, along with the challenges of providing Covid-19 care, is challenging.

The hospital is actively managing discharges and using the model 2 hospitals and community facilities to ease the pressure. The Government provided significant additional funding for this year of €1.2 billion to increase capacity and services, develop the alternative pathways, and support reform. This level of investment is being maintained and built on for the budget for next year. In short, while much capacity has been added, I am aware there are still significant pressures that need to be looked at.

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