Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Healthcare capacity has to be included in the national risk assessment along with issues of public health. It is beyond question that, when a public health emergency hits, it is already too late. I commend those who work on the front line in that system. Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, we had the longest waiting lists in the EU. We had a series of some of the longest and strictest lockdowns because we had so little spare capacity in the health system. Today, more than 800,000 people are on some form of waiting list. This includes 96,000 children. Last week, when the end of Covid restrictions was announced, six ambulances were lined up in front of Mayo University Hospital. Some of those patients had already waited five hours for an ambulance. We just do not have the capacity required. It is an enormous risk. I spoke to a woman last week who had been urgently referred to the breast clinic by her GP. Despite this, she was told she would have to wait three months. This also presents an enormous risk. Will the Taoiseach assure us that healthcare capacity will be front and centre in our risk assessment?

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