Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I had to attend a meeting of the Joint Committee on Education and Skills yesterday during the Order of Business, so I would just like to congratulate Birdhill on winning the Tidy Towns competition and Limerick on receiving its first bronze medal. It is a big boost to all the volunteers who are out weekly cleaning the streets and so on.

The main issue I want to raise today is the overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick. I know we are having a debate in the afternoon on the mid-term capital review, but I think it is time we called in the Minister for Health because, not only is this issue affecting Limerick, but it is affecting the mid-west region as well. The highest amount of overcrowding is in University Hospital Limerick. The new accident and emergency department only opened in May of 2017 and yet there were 22 people waiting for admission to beds in wards and almost 40 people on trolleys who were treated in the new accident and emergency department. There are so many people dependant on this hospital. It is time that the beds which are so necessary to expand services for the region be put in place as a matter of urgency, both in University Hospital Limerick and in St. John's Hospital, Limerick.