Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the response but it is not good enough for the people of Limerick or most of the hospital staff. I am a Deputy for Limerick. The report referred to nine hospitals. I am sure the Minister of State was just handed his response and read it out. It did not even mention University Hospital Limerick. One would imagine, since I am the Deputy for that constituency, that the response would refer to that hospital. That is deeply disappointing. The workers at the hospital did Trojan work through the Covid pandemic. They need to hear support from central Government and that their concerns are being heard. Calls have been made for a HIQA inquiry into the level of overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick. I have yet to hear whether one will be commissioned.

In a recent reply to a question, the Minister stated that the current congestion in our emergency departments is due to constrained bed capacity, the high number of patients with Covid-19, and increased numbers of delayed transfer of cases. I accept these are important elements, but the report of the independent review of unscheduled care performance shows that the issue in emergency departments preceded the Covid-19 pandemic. It is important to restate and put on the Dáil's record the report by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine that there is an average of one excess death per 67 patients who stay in emergency departments for eight to 12 hours. People are clearly dying unnecessarily in our emergency departments, including in University Hospital Limerick, due to waiting and overcrowding.

Covid is a factor but it has grown old as an excuse for the Minister to hide behind. The problems existed well before Covid. Covid added to them and the Minister's inaction has compounded them. Unfortunately, people in Limerick believe nothing will change while the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is in charge. The fact he walked through the Chamber literally one minute before I spoke speaks volumes about his interest in our hospital. His speech, which I am sure was crafted for the Minister of State, did not mention Limerick either.

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