Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, for coming in here today. For a while, I was afraid that the Chief Whip would be responding on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. Is the Minister back in the country? It is good to know that he is, because while he was away, overcrowding in Limerick reached a new record level. It reached a record for Limerick and then the next day, it reached a national record. I raised the issue of the necessity of some kind of an independent review with the Taoiseach. He seemed to take the idea on board and said he would refer it to the HSE and the Minister for Health.

I, along with my Independent colleagues from the region, have raised this matter to ascertain what is happening with this independent review. Will we proceed with it? I do not have the answers. I know what the problems are and, undoubtedly, the Minister of State does too. It is very obvious. We have massive overcrowding in Limerick and have had for a long time. We were told that the new 96-bed unit would solve the problem with overcrowding-----

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