Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate both the Minister for Health and the Minister of State. They are aware that the healthcare system is in crisis. That is no surprise to anyone, certainly not the 800,000 people who are anxiously awaiting treatment or the short-staffed doctors and nurses, many of whom have contacted us because they have University Hospital Kerry, the people of Kerry and the good of the area foremost in their minds. Under the helm of successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments, it has become almost impossible to get a GP or a dental appointment. Access to mental health treatment is a shambles. A pilot scheme for crisis mental health interventions commenced last October in Limerick. It was a long time coming. Under that pilot scheme a trained nurse travels around the area in an ambulance to people who have crises in their lives. Perhaps that scheme can be looked at and expanded. We know about the hundreds of people languishing on trolleys. In fact, 2025 set new records in all the ways we want to avoid. For example, for University Hospital Kerry 2025 has been a record year in terms of the number of patients on trolleys and emergency department waiting times. Since the start of this year, at least 650 people have been forced into this situation, some waiting over 19 hours. What are the solutions?

I hope the Minister will travel to Kerry to look at the hospital. A number of issues need to be sorted out there. The Minister is aware of the new community hospital. However, it will not give one extra bed to the county because the old hospital is closing down. What that will be used for in the future we do not know. I presume there will be a primary care centre, which is badly needed, in Killarney. One is also needed in Cahersiveen.

Kerry also needs a minor injuries clinic. The location is a matter of some controversy but 70% of the people who use the current emergency department in University Hospital Kerry come from the west, the north, the Castleisland area and Tralee. It makes sense to have a minor injuries clinic. We have seen the success of such clinics around the country, such as the one in Gurranebraher, where patients are seen within the hour. That should be looked at. The priority should be to use the backup staff, the consultants that are there and to take into account the people who use it. I ask the Minister to commit to open one of these and a modular day unit. Every year for the past few years the day treatments and elective surgeries are cancelled. The last time I checked, there had not been an elective surgery since 19 December. I ask the Minister to look at that.

One final point relates to dental surgery. In Kerry the wait time for oral surgery is two-and-a-half years. I spoke to the parent of a five-year-old boy who was in serious pain, suffering from abscesses.

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