Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have listened to what the Taoiseach has said. He has told me about all the things that have been done. He is not responding in any way to the fact that 34 senior consultants signed an email that was absolutely incredible. The Taoiseach talked about the €30 million increase in funding to Sligo hospital. How does this compare to elsewhere? He talked about staffing increases, but he did not compare them to what is happening anywhere else. We are not at the races. After the crash, Sligo hospital lost 60 beds, which was, proportionally, far more than any other hospital. It did not get one of them back until it got three or four in the last year or two. Historically, there has been underfunding and under-resourcing. The Taoiseach mentioned the winter plan. I wrote to the HSE asking about the staff being recruited for this plan. Does the Taoiseach know what response I got? It was that the HSE is starting to recruit. I got this response a week ago. I am pleased to hear the Taoiseach mention the new surgical block. This was in place, basically, ten years ago. Does the Taoiseach know what point it was at then? Staff were then sitting down and looking at where various pieces of equipment would be located in the block. That was ten years ago, and nothing has happened in the meantime.

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