Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)

Today, trolley numbers in University Hospital Limerick have again exceeded 100, exceeding ten hospitals on the east coast of the country. With the recent announcement by the Government of a new accident and emergency department for Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, I am hopeful that we will soon see movement towards a second accident and emergency department in Limerick. When does the Government expect to receive final advice from HIQA on emergency care capacity in the mid-west? Will the Government commit to facilitating a Dáil debate on this as soon as those findings come in? UHL, as we all know well, is the only model 4 hospital not supported by a model 3. I welcome the work the Government has done on consultants and weekend rostering to deal with delayed discharge.

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