Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We all condemn the attacks on our emergency services and front-line staff over the weekend, particularly the fire brigade and ambulance crews. The attacks became acute over the Halloween weekend, particularly in Dublin. Unfortunately, it happens all year round, and those staff are putting their lives on the line for us. Those front-line staff include gardaí, fire crew, ambulance staff, prison officers and nurses. Three years ago Fianna Fáil published legislation by my colleague Deputy Dara Calleary which would make it a specific offence in law to assault an emergency worker, with a minimum sentence of five years. That is something the Government should consider. It is a particularly grave crime if people who are there to assist the general public are assaulted and attacked by thugs. I ask the Leader to speak to the Minister for Justice and Equality and ask her to look at the legislation produced by Deputy Calleary in 2012.If the Government were to give an indication that it intended to work towards introducing measures similar to those proposed in the Bill, it would go a long way towards deterring some of the thugs involved in this activity. Attacks on ambulance and fire crews would stop if people convicted of such attacks were given harsh sentences. I ask the Leader to raise this matter with the Minister for Justice and Equality.

The position in the health service has moved from crisis to catastrophe. We read in today's edition of the Daily Mailthat a couple who are both 90 years of age waited for two days on trolleys in Tallaght Hospital. Figures from the trolley watch website show that in the first ten months of 2015, almost 80,000 patients admitted to hospital were left on trolleys. The health service is going from bad to worse and what is most frustrating for me and many of those to whom I speak is that the Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar, appears to believe he is a commentator. For example, he speaks on radio about how terrible and awful the position is while it continues to worsen on his watch. There is no plan in place and no action is being taken. A supplementary budget of €800 million will probably be needed for the health service. The Minister is throwing money at the problem to pay for the introduction of additional temporary beds and staff over the winter months. People are suffering. It is disgraceful in this day and age that a couple in their 90s were left for two days on trolleys. In the week before last, Beaumont Hospital again announced that it could not admit additional patients. The number of outpatients waiting for an appointment has increased by 300%. The Minister is not doing his job.

This issue deserves immediate Government attention, rather than the current sticking-plaster approach. Incidentally, the current problems cannot be blamed on economic developments because the Government had four and a half years to address them. During that period, two Ministers have been responsible for a further degradation and drastic disimprovement in the health service. The Minister for Health must come before the House to make a statement and answer specific questions about accident and emergency departments. With that in mind, I am proposing an amendment to the Order of Business to the effect that he come before the House today to inform us of his plans to ensure that no one - particularly elderly senior citizens - is left on a trolley for two days. The current position is disgraceful and the Minister should be ashamed of his stewardship of the Department of Health. I am formally tabling an amendment to require the Minister to come to the House to answer questions.