David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have visited five hospitals over recent weeks. I have spoken to many managers of hospitals, but also people who work on the front line, including nurses, doctors, consultants and healthcare assistants. Every single hospital is doing its best to deal with very difficult circumstances at the moment with rising infections in the community. Staff are working wonders, but they are burned out and there is a lot of fatigue. Managers are also doing their best. At every single hospital I have visited there are plans for more beds. The hospitals need more beds, surgical theatre capacity and diagnostic capacity. They also do not have the option, in many cases, of sending people home because the home care is not there and we do not have step-down or recovery beds in the community, yet over the past 24 hours the Minister for Health seems to be blaming everybody bar himself. It seems to be the management of the hospitals and the staff who are not doing enough, but the Minister needs to take responsibility for the fact that in far too many circumstances-----

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