Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes. That is over the past year. I apologise and correct the record. More than 10,000 people aged over 75 have had to wait more than 24 hours on hospital trolleys. We know the cold is coming; it comes every year. The number of people in need of emergency department services increases during cold spells but an emergency department winter plan does not seem to be in place.One was expected at the end of July but was not forthcoming. It is an issue which affects every county every year. We need to have a plan in place to deal with it. Otherwise, we will be here again discussing how people have needlessly died in hospitals without having received proper care. We should have a decent plan in place to ensure that when people attend hospital over the winter period that there is a proper service available for them and they get the right treatment.