Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Senator. I am all for a decisive and independent external review. I am all for leaving the vested interests of the HSE, management, the Department of Health and the hospital group outside the door. That is absolutely my position. However, that does not solve the issue for the 111 people on trolleys today. I believe there must be triaging of the issue. I compliment the management within the hospital group for what it has done with the facilities at Ennis, Nenagh and St. John's hospitals. I also compliment the hospital group for what it has done on elective procedures. However, there is a substantial problem with the emergency department in UHL. One consideration we must address is whether we have the consultants who can triage the patients who are coming through the doors of the hospital. We need to do that work now. We must examine whether we have the people on the ground who can make the decisions to move the trolleys along. I agree with the Senator. I will bring what he said to the attention of the Minister.