Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Céad míle fáilte to Senator Pippa Hackett. I hope she enjoys the pantomime that this place sometimes brings.

I want to comment on the overcrowding, which is often described as obscene but is also insupportable. I know the issues in Limerick are constantly being raised by Senators Bryne and Gavan, and there is also Cork University Hospital in the Leader's area, as well as the situation at the hospitals in Letterkenny and south Tipperary. The INMO brings out statistics on a monthly basis and, obviously, the recent figure is the highest so far this year, with 679 people on trolleys. Every year, we have the winter initiative and we know overcrowding is at its worst in February and March every year. Unfortunately, it would seem the winter initiative needs to become a year-round initiative to try to find capacity. We have empty wards and problems with recruitment and retention, as well as the significant increase in the population of the country, but we have not increased capacity while trying to recruit and retain medical staff. The Minister, Deputy Harris, is to meet each hospital group this afternoon. I ask that he would come back into the House to report on what their initiatives and plans are but, more importantly, what their actions are.

Dovetailing into this is an alarming report about the rise in the number of teenagers missing school at second level. Tusla has launched a survey and it is the first year it has monitored school attendance. The survey shows that 12% of referrals to its service concerned people who cannot or will not attend school due to stress and anxiety. It is the first time this has been named and, for example, they say they cannot attend due to the school atmosphere or other pressures that are going on in their lives. Tusla will not take a disciplinary approach but is urging parents and students to contact it with these referrals, so it can sit down in a non-judgmental way and try to work out the difficulties.