Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ní aontaím leis an Teachta. Admhaím ar dtús go bhfuil na hospidéil agus na hionaid éigeandála faoi bhrú faoi láthair ach tá plean ann. Ní plean gearrthéarmach atá ann anois, ach plean don bhliain ar fad. Tá infheistíocht faoi leith curtha isteach in ospidéil na tíre seo ó tháinig an Rialtas seo ar an bhfód. Ní raibh a leithéid d’infheistíocht ann le blianta fada. Is í sin fírinne an scéil.

The investment in health has been unprecedented in the last four years, with €7.1 billion extra since 2019. The Deputy should not be saying that no one cares or that people have thrown in the towel. That is not correct. We need a reasoned, balanced and rational debate, not just shouting and roaring, getting angry and accusing people of bad faith. There has been a 51% increase in about three years. It is an extraordinary investment. Yes, there have been very significant pressures on emergency departments but trolley numbers have come down by about 22% nationally. What is critical is patient flow within hospitals and discharge policies. I know the HSE has been in touch with Cork University Hospital in respect of patient flow and discharges and there have been some improvements. We saw at Waterford hospital how locally approved and applied policies had a very effective outcome in respect of delays.

No patient should be 100 hours on a trolley and that cannot be just apportioned to national allocation of funding. In my view, no elderly person should be 100 hours on any trolley. There are issues there that are not just about national allocations of funding. We need reforms of how patient flow and discharge are managed. In addition, we need extra capacity, and we have increased ICU capacity by 24% since we came into office and increased the number of beds. There are very significant capital proposals and projects in the pipeline for Cork University Hospital in terms of surgical hubs and a new paediatric unit. We have already had significant investment in that hospital in this respect and we need to do more. We have received proposals in respect of a number of significant projects, including trauma, which we approved. This Government, for the first time, has a major trauma investment programme, which has included Cork University Hospital, along with the Dublin hospital, because Cork is the major trauma centre and one of the largest in the country from that perspective.

We will continue to invest. In the OECD Health at a Glance report comparing Ireland with other EU member states, we ranked second-highest in the OECD for practising nurses per 1,000 population and 12th-highest for practising doctors per 1,000 population among 25 participating EU member states in 2021. That figure has since gone up. We need to put this debate in perspective. Very substantial resources have been allocated to health. The population has increased, which I acknowledge, but along with and in parallel with increased resources, we have to consistently look at how we organise our hospitals in terms of ensuring reforms across the board into the future.

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