Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

You are fine. I raise our health services. From people across the Chamber, we have had requests for the Minister of Health to come into the Seanad and so far he has not agreed to come. Having heard Senator Clonan this morning, the urgency is there for all to see.

The issue I want to raise does not relate to University Hospital Limerick on this occasion. I want to extend my range and talk about what is happening at University Hospital Kerry, where elective surgeries continue to be delayed. The situation there has been ongoing for a number of months. It has gone from being unacceptable to outrageous. Hospital staff and management are doing what they can but the need to keep other services going means elective procedures are being delayed. Routine procedures are often used to treat minor health issues which could be dealt with easily if treated early. When there are constant delays, however, these issues can develop into major health problems. This is counterproductive because having to treat the bigger health problem is not just awful and dangerous for the patient, but also more costly and demanding on the health system.

Nationally there was a spike of 48% in hospital cancellations in the first nine months of 2023. There is a direct correlation between hospital overcrowding and cancellation of elective surgeries. The Government is shifting the problem from emergency departments to waiting lists, leaving patients waiting longer for access to care. We now have a leaderless Government that consistently fails to plan and to implement Sláintecare, which has led us to this point. We need workforce planning, primary care support and innovative initiatives in a pharmacy-first model, complemented by a minor injuries clinic. At a time when rural Ireland needs flourishing communities, regional redevelopment, regional rebalancing of infrastructure and investment, instead we are seeing the downgrading of services, which will lead to more emigration and a further decline in the population of smaller towns and cities.

I find it entirely unacceptable that the Minister for Health, despite constant requests from across the Chamber, has so far failed to come in. I ask that the first item on the agenda when we return from Easter be to have the Minister in this Chamber, for the sake of all of us. We all know the crises are getting worse, not better, across our health service.

Leader, please forgive me, I have to go to another meeting so I will not be here for the response, but I will check back later.