Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I hope in the future, when the Tánaiste comes in and starts quoting statistics, that he will refer to money rather than percentages. I remind him that University Hospital Waterford, which has one of the largest patient catchments in the country, has the lowest funding and lowest numbers of staff and beds of all model 4 hospitals in the country. It is a case of taking a hospital that was left moribund for two decades, bringing it up a some amount and then telling us that we have had amazing delivery. We certainly have not. I remind the Tánaiste that 22,000 people marched in Waterford in 2013 because of issues with our university and hospital. To date, neither the university nor the hospital has been addressed, especially cardiac care delivery. This is an equality issue. Why should the people of the south-east region continue to suffer without access to emergency heart attack services at University Hospital Waterford every weekend? How is that fair in any part of this country? It is patently unfair. The Tánaiste took electoral aggrandisement when promised in 2016 that he would deliver a 24-7 service. We still do not even have a weekend service. I ask him to deliver properly on his promises. That is all I am asking him to do.

See this speech in context