I can confirm that the scheme is broadening by about 430,000 men, women and children in the coming months, so that everyone in the country earning up to the median income will have access to State-funded GP care. We worked very hard to try to get the six- and seven-year olds over the line last year. Agreement was not possible but I can assure the Deputy that was not for the want of trying. We are engaging with the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, on both cohorts now, namely, the 430,000 people earning up to the med…

There has been an historical issue with the number of patients on trolleys in Limerick, of which we are aware. There has also been a very successful initiative by the healthcare professionals, not just in the hospital but in the community group as well, since we had the three very high days at the start of January. As of 8 o'clock this morning, there are eight patients on trolleys. The average number of patients on trolleys in the past seven days is five or six. The numbers have been brought very low. What we need …

That is not true.

It is not.

No.

When was that?

I thank the Senators who tabled the motion and those who have spoken during the debate. This is a constructive motion. I have listened carefully to the ideas that have come forward in respect of what needs to be done. I share the concerns that have been raised about some aspects of urgent and emergency care in the mid-west. Those concerns do not only apply to the mid-west. There are concerns in Cork, Galway, parts of Dublin and Letterkenny. There are concerns around the country. However, we are talking specifically…

The budget has increased by 20%. In 2019, the hospital budget was €265 million. It is now €315 million. There has been a large increase of money, workforce and beds. In the emergency department, extra emergency medicine consultants have been sanctioned. Under the safe staffing framework for emergency departments, 21.5 additional whole-time equivalent nurses have been sanctioned for UHL and 19.5 of those nurses have already been recruited. Senator Gavan pointed out, at least technically correctly, that UHL did not r…

That is actively happening and consideration will be given to future capacity, including the two 96-bed blocks. I was talking to the HSE about that earlier today. I have more information I can come back to on another day, but I will wrap up. The core message is that we will continue to invest in UHL and in the hospital group. We will continue to invest in the workforce and in beds. We are putting a surgical hub and much more capacity in place. The other part of this is that we need changes to working practices, to …

I apologise about the timing. It was entirely my fault. I very much welcome the opportunity to address the House on emergency departments. Like many Members, I have visited emergency departments across the country to hear about the first-hand experiences of patients and staff. I have seen the distress that overcrowding causes to patients and their families and to front-line staff working in what can be very challenging conditions. This experience is being replicated across Europe - in Northern Ireland, Britain, Fra…

I reiterate my acknowledgement and that of the Government that what is happening in some accident and emergency departments - not in all of them but in too many- is not acceptable. It causes immense distress for patients and families and it is a very difficult working environment for our healthcare professionals. It is a very serious situation and one we have had for many years. I acknowledge it is not good enough and unacceptable and that it is causing great distress. We must also bear in mind the context for what…

Every single day, I meet nurses in hospitals and in community care who love their jobs, who provide great care to patients and who are immensely proud of what they and their colleagues do. You would swear there was not one who was doing a decent job based on what we hear in the Dáil and what we have heard here today from Opposition Senators. We do have real challenges. There is a real challenge with regard to access to emergency departments and consultants, particularly for outpatients. We know that. That is why we…

I will finish on this point. As I have said, capacity is part of the answer. Reform is the other part. There has not been a patient on a trolley at University Hospital Waterford in more than three years. In hospitals such as those in Portlaoise and Tullamore, the number of patients on trolleys is consistently very low. Why? It is because they roster differently. They provide access to senior decision-makers in a different way and manage patient flow differently. They engage with the nursing home sector and with pri…

Go raibh maith agat a Cheann Comhairle and I am sharing time with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. The Mental Health Commission's interim report is an important contribution to our objective of providing timely high-quality child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. The focus on service quality and patient safety is vital in developing and improving services. Following the Maskey report early last year, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, contacted the Mental Health Commission to ask it if it would …

I want to make a few comments, having listened intently to the debate. I have reviewed some of the core documents about implementation of Sharing the Vision and of CAMHS, as well as the report itself, during the debate. I want to make a few quick points. I thank colleagues. I have found this debate useful. It shows that Dáil Éireann can work well when we are united on a common goal, which we are on this matter. Our goal is to have the best possible services for people who need them, which they can get as quickly as…

Is the motion not agreed then?

It seems to be not agreed.

No.

The occupational therapy waiting lists are too long in many parts of the country. Other waiting lists in children's disability services in Progressing Disability Services are far too long. There is a new draft strategy. My focus and that of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is on recruitment. Models of care are being examined. The most serious issue we have is recruitment. Many hundreds of posts have been sanctioned and funded by the Government, but the HSE has struggled to recruit into them for too long. The M…

There is no consideration, at the moment, of opening more emergency departments. However, in my view the reconfiguration that happened some time ago was not done in the right way. There is a very strong clinical view for the consolidation of emergency departments. However, the resources needed to be put in place before such a reconfiguration. That is why I intervened, for example, in the reconfiguration in Navan. UHL is under significant pressure. I turned the sod recently on an additional 96 beds. There are two mo…