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

I was in Wexford General Hospital and University Hospital Waterford in the past two weeks since the fire and I had a chance to speak to the management, doctors and other healthcare staff there about the situation. It is putting huge pressure on University Hospital Waterford, St. Luke's General Hospital Kilkenny and other hospitals. Part of what is happening is that a minor injuries unit has been reopened in the hospital. There is a new 22-bed ward opening in Kilcreene Regional Orthopaedic Hospital Kilkenny to help out as well. Patients are being repatriated to Wexford too. Staff are being transferred. Mowlam Healthcare, a nursing home in Tramore, is being used as well.

If it is possible to do a modular unit or to do something to provide additional capacity, we should do it. I gave that indication to the management when I was there. The emergency rules that applied during the Covid-19 period no longer do. The advice we got from the Attorney General on that is not favourable. I know people for very good reasons feel that all these things are emergencies, but everything cannot always be an emergency, and Covid-19 was a particular set of circumstances.

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