Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh chinneadh bhreitheamh an liosta tráchtála maidir le Apple in nGaillimh agus go bhfuil sé chun an fhorbairt sin a ligean ar aghaidh. Is dea-scéal é sin don cheantar agus do chúrsaí fostaíochta. I welcome the ruling of the Commercial Court that the Apple data centre in Athenry can go ahead, which is good news for our local area.

Not such good news, however, is that the Trolley Watch figures for Galway University Hospital have quadrupled in ten years and the problems in the health service in the west are getting much worse, rather than improving. The figures from Trolley Watch and Ward Watch published by the INMO show that, from 2006 to 2017, the figures for GUH and Portiuncula Hospital quadrupled. From January 2006 to August 2006 there were 1,190 in GUH and 306 in Portiuncula but the comparable figures for 2017 show that there were four times more people on trolleys, that is, 4,331 in GUH and 1,300 in Portiuncula.

There are 101,261 on inpatient and outpatient waiting lists in the Saolta Hospital Group, 50,496 in GUH, 9,549 in Mayo General Hospital and 3,915 in Portiuncula. Of that cohort, 10,652 have been on the lists for over 18 months so it is quite clear that successive Governments have failed miserably to address our health service issues, particularly in the west.

We have brought forward some proposals that would address the crisis in emergency departments, such as increasing bed numbers by 500 and re-opening closed beds, increasing nurse and midwives numbers by 500 each year and recruiting 800 more consultants and medical secretaries. I am not sure the Leader has read those proposals but he should. Our alternative budget also included these measures.I am glad that our health spokesperson has issued a clarification for the Leader that he should read. It shows that we increased the amount available to health, based on the budget's figures, way and above what the Leader's Government was going to provide.

I would welcome a debate with the relevant Minister on the health crisis, particularly in the west of Ireland, on the trolley crisis and on the exorbitant waiting lists where people wait for very important surgeries.