Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Darragh O'Brien raised the question of attacks on members of the emergency services, particularly fire brigade staff over Halloween, and also attacks on prison officers in their homes in recent months. He asked that a specific offence for such attacks be considered and that I relay this to the Minister. I certainly will do so. It is absolutely despicable that any member of our emergency services would be treated in such a manner. Strong, stringent sentences, mandatory if necessary, should be in place for people who attack members of our Defence Forces or emergency services. The word "respect" has gone from the vocabulary of so many people. There is no respect for members of the Defence Forces and emergency services among some people. The latter should suffer as a result of their actions. They should suffer a lot more than they are suffering currently. I will certainly bring this matter to the attention of the Minister.

Senators Darragh O'Brien, Colm Burke, MacSharry, Conway, Wilson and Ó Domhnaill referred to health services, particularly accident and emergency services. The latter point was raised by Senator Darragh O'Brien. It is totally unacceptable that a couple in their 90s would be on trolleys for a night or two nights. This applies to everybody, irrespective of age. Tackling emergency department overcrowding is a priority of the Government. The Minister convened the emergency department task force in December 2014 to provide focus and momentum in dealing with the challenges associated with overcrowding in accident and emergency departments. Significant progress has been made to date on the overall emergency department task force plan. Delayed discharges are reducing steadily. The waiting time for fair deal funding has been reduced from 11 weeks to between two and four weeks. Last year, this was a major issue raised in the House. Transitional care funding supporting almost 2,000 people who have been approved under the fair deal scheme is available to move them from acute and non-acute care while waiting for their long-term placement. Over 1,200 additional home care packages have been provided. Some 238 beds have been opened in 2015, including 149 additional public nursing home beds, 24 additional private contract beds in Moorehall in County Louth and 65 short-stay beds in Mount Carmel. Therefore, progress is being made on these issues.