Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to pay tribute to the late Chuck Feeney. He was a philanthropist and was instrumental in much funding that came to the university in Limerick but also to many universities. I wish to pass on my sympathies to his family. The man was held in very high esteem. He gave away his wealth while he was still alive and made a difference to a lot of lives and many institutions. May he rest in peace.

I rise today is because we saw a huge health budget announced yesterday but then this morning at University Hospital Limerick, UHL, people were being told to stay away. All non-life-threatening procedures were cancelled yet again. This was continuous all through the summer and continues now. We have not really hit the flu season or anything else that might be coming. It is frightening to see people being asked to stay away from the hospital. I really believe we need to have a debate in this House regarding health.

I want to pay tribute to the staff and consultants who are working under extreme conditions. There were 103 trolleys yesterday, which was actually quite low. The figure is often 128 and 138. I wish to pay tribute to the people who are working in the hospital. We need to give people security. People need to have confidence in going to the hospital. For the hospital to tell people to stay away is just not good enough. There are other hospitals that have been brought into the group. I have gone on record to say that we need to educate people that there are minor injuries units for some procedures or minor injuries. They do not all have to go too UHL. Some sort of education campaign or public relations exercise is needed in terms of letting people know what they need to do. I would like the Leader's support yet again in this regard. UHL is the biggest hospital in the mid-west. It is just not good enough.