Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yes. His job is to deliver charts around the various hospitals in Nenagh, Croom and the two in Limerick city. His van broke down and since then because the University Hospital Limerick and the national ambulance service cannot agree on who should pay for a new van, the taxpayer is spending €2,000 to €3,000 every week on taxis. Can that be credited? I give that as an example of the incompetence at the heart of HSE management and the failure of the Government to deal with it bearing in mind that Fine Gael has been in charge for six years at this stage. It would be laughable if it was not so serious. This week my SIPTU colleagues among the nursing and support staff are going on strike, not for extra money, but because of the chronic staff shortage in the hospital and because morale is at an all-time low.

At the same time as these chronic staff shortages and the embargo on recruitment, we are spending tens of millions of euro on agency staff - more than ever - to plug the gaps caused by not hiring the staff. It makes no sense from an accounting point of view. Morale is at an all-time low. I am new to this arena. I remember standing on a platform with Deputy Kelly and Eamon Gilmore as they pledged to save Nenagh hospital - we know how that went. I remember seeing Senator James Reilly - it can be viewed on YouTube - asking people if they would fight to save Monaghan Hospital. We know how that went.

The situation in Limerick is so dire that the vice president of the National Association of General Practitioners, Dr. Emmet Kerin, has described it as the worst accident and emergency unit in Ireland and he has correctly said that people will not send their loved ones there even with serious illnesses. I know that Fine Gael inherited a bad situation, but after six years it is just not good enough. There is a rising tide of anger.

I am raising the issue today because I have received a number of phone calls from staff and patients who are genuinely concerned over the safety and welfare of patients in Limerick city. The Minister for Finance comes from Limerick and we have had other senior Ministers from Limerick. There is a litany of failure and there is a rising tide of anger from people who are not prepared to put up with another winter of suffering due to the incompetence of the Government.

I ask the Leader to bring the Minister for Health to the House as a matter of urgency. I know we do not have much time left this year and we are heading towards January. To put things in perspective, there were 68 people on trolleys on 8 November. There is a new policy that once it goes over 16 trolleys, the staff push the trolleys into the wards. That would mean 50 trolleys in wards, which is the equivalent of the entire capacity of Ennis hospital. The hospital has asked for an extra 96 beds. There is no word from the Minister on that. A report eight years ago asked for 100 beds. There is nothing new here. We all know what the problems are. We also know unfortunately of the chronic incapacity of the Government to deal with them. I ask the Leader to bring the Minister for Health to the House as a matter of urgency.