Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

They are targets that are given out to people as answers. In fairness, we can only take the information that is given to us.

In the Taoiseach's constituency at Cork University Hospital today, dangerous levels of overcrowding exist. I have spoken about the situation in University Hospital Limerick on more occasions in the House than I have spoken about any other matter. That situation still obtains today.

There are 532 people on trolleys in our hospitals, over 720 vacant consultant posts and 4,500 funded positions that officials in the Department of Health are saying will not be met. These are record statistics going in the wrong direction. This needs to be arrested immediately. Otherwise, we are heading into a full crisis after coming out of such a difficult period in which the heath service has done so well.

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