Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yet again, I raise the issue of UHL. Today, at least, elective surgery is resuming at the hospital having been suspended for two days due to pressure on the emergency department. A number of things have happened, one of the most important of them being the decision announced today by Mr. Bernard Gloster, CEO of the HSE, on "Morning Ireland" that the minor injuries unit at Ennis Hospital will now be open 24 hours a day. The necessary arrangements are being put in place to facilitate this. This is welcome. The unit stays open until midnight at present. It will give a lot of confidence to people if they know that the unit will be open 24 hours per day.

I also welcome the acknowledgement by Mr. Gloster of the serious challenges that exist in UHL and the need for proper explanations regarding the spending of enormous amounts of taxpayers' money in the hospital. We have gone from a situation in 2019 where the spend at the hospital was €265 million to one where the spend in 2023 was €386 million. That is a significant increase. We have also seen a dramatic increase in the number of staff. Since 2019, an extra 1,040 staff have been recruited to the mid-west hospital group. An extra 98 beds have been provided in UHL and 150 extra beds have been provided across the five hospitals that make up the hospital group.There is a significant increase in capacity and staff and a dramatic increase in the spending of taxpayers' money. We need to drill down and find out what is wrong that we have record-breaking numbers of people on hospital trolleys in UHL in March, given all the money that has been spent, all the staff who have been recruited and the increase in capacity. That is in addition to what will be available in 2025, when an additional 96-bed block will open, this time next year.