Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There were 669 people on hospital trolleys yesterday, 28 of whom were children. This is the highest ever level of hospital overcrowding for the month of October. Some 15 hospitals across the State did not have a single bed available. My colleague, Deputy Cullinane, has information showing that the average wait in an emergency department this year is nearly 13 hours. It is nearly 15 hours for those aged over 75. As the Taoiseach will know, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, has repeatedly warned of a catastrophic winter for our hospitals, so this crisis was entirely foreseeable. The big question is, where is the plan and the action needed from the Minister for Health? Where is the plan for emergency departments he promised last April? Where is the multi-annual plan for tackling hospital waiting lists the Minister promised more than 18 months ago? Why are these plans lying on the Minister's desk while our people are lying on trolleys?

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