Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Rural Independents want to be associated with the vote of sympathy on the late Deputy Ben Briscoe.

At the Business Committee, I have asked dozens of times for a debate in the House on the excess mortality of humans, not to mention the animals that have been talked about by Deputies. Human life is the most sacred thing of all, in my opinion anyway. I want a debate here on the sharp and ongoing rise in the number of excess deaths compared to last year or many other years. We see overcrowding in every hospital and the ongoing chaos at Limerick University Hospital. There is pressure on people given the numbers getting sick, contracting serious illnesses and dying very quickly. The medical people are trying to do their best but we need an investigation into this. We need to debate it in this House before we rise for the summer so we will not pass on the problem again next winter. We should be prepared to have a proper debate before the winter.

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