Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have seen a significant increase in overcrowding in recent weeks, not just in Cork but around the country, which is extremely worrying. There are lots of reasons for this. As the Deputy knows, giving the fact that the pandemic restrictions are now gone - although Covid is not gone - there is pent-up demand stemming from the pandemic period. We also have an increasingly aging population. All those factors are giving rise to what could be a very busy winter in our emergency departments. Many of the actions mentioned by the Deputy will be taken, including the recruitment of additional specialist, securing additional capacity where we can, the use of the private sector and the use of home care.

We will do as much as we can to increase capacity within hospitals and emergency departments, as well as to get people out quicker and to avoid people going to hospital, where possible.

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