Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Leader and wish him all the best for the future. It is great news. The very best of luck to them both.I raise the issue of the new accident and emergency unit in University Hospital Limerick which is the most overcrowded emergency department in the country. Some 4,150 people have been treated on trolleys in the hospital since the start of January. Despite the opening of a new accident and emergency unit that is three times the size of the old emergency department, overcrowding remains a problem. I and many of my colleagues have raised this issue with the Minister of Health numerous times. The hospital requires new beds and 90 replacement beds are needed in St. John's Hospital to try to alleviate the overcrowding problem in the region. I ask the Leader to request that the Minister come to the House. It is terrible that University Hospital Limerick has treated 500 more people on trolleys than University Hospital Cork and almost 700 more people than the largest Galway hospital. We must continue to raise this issue until it is resolved.