Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Will the Acting Chair stop the clock? I was about to address the Minister but he has left the building. Perhaps he has gone for coffee or something. He cannot be too concerned about the pre-winter crisis in hospitals across the State. I was going to say to him that we are already seeing worrying cutbacks in patient services, even ahead of the winter surge, and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda is certainly no exception to that. In recent weeks the emergency department there has experienced delays and overcrowding and on three occasions it has had to issue public notices for people to attend only in emergency cases. Along with that, some outpatient clinics have been reduced and cancelled and elective surgeries are now being examined or reviewed on a daily basis. All of that is ahead of the winter surge. This happens every single year.

At some stage we must say to ourselves that whatever about the higher echelons of HSE management - or mismanagement for the want of a better word - the buck actually stops with the Minister. We could set our clock for this time every year where we stand up here and flag the fact that appointments are being cancelled, patients do not have access to public health services, people are sitting on chairs and waiting for 24 hours in overcrowded emergency departments, yet the Minister just sits there. He has not even bothered to stay this time. He is away. At some stage the Minister must accept responsibility. The buck stops with him, and with the Government.

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