David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The tragedy of all of this is that most of those beds have come far too late. There is no reason those beds should not have been funded years ago. Everybody knows that when the decision was made to close Ennis and Nenagh emergency departments, additional capacity was needed in Limerick. It was promised that it would be a centre of excellence. It has not been able to perform as that centre of excellence and the main trauma and emergency department service for Limerick because it does not have the capacity.

There is a number of things needed. The Minister needs to stay ahead of the problem, which is why we are saying more beds are needed. The hospital says it needs a minimum of 230 beds right now. We have to stay well ahead of that because we will have further population growth and demand on the healthcare system.

Ennis and Nenagh hospitals need to be examined. Their emergency departments were closed but there is no model 3 hospital in the region. I live in Waterford, as does the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. Wexford has an emergency department and a model 3 hospital. St. Luke's in Kilkenny has an emergency department and a model 3 hospital. We have a model 4 hospital and an emergency department in that radius. The mid-west has only one either model 3 or model 4 hospital, and that is Limerick, and it is struggling. We must have a much more holistic review of what is needed in the region.

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