Today, more than 530 patients are on trolleys in accident and emergency departments. In some hospitals the situation is truly chaotic, and it is extremely stressful for many patients throughout the country. In Beaumont Hospital 45 patients are on trolleys. I am reminded of the Minister's statement in December that the situation in Beaumont Hospital would be alleviated fairly quickly, but it is getting far worse. In Cork there are at total of 53 patients on trolleys at Mercy University Hospital and Cork University Hospital. The number in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital is 50. In Galway the number is 30 and in Limerick, where sources state that the situation is absolutely chaotic, it is 37. In Wexford the number is 32. Last week we learned about a 100-year-old woman who spent more than 24 hours on a trolley, and the story was well covered in the Irish Daily Mail. She was one of up to ten people aged over 80 who spent up to 23 hours on trolleys, which is a truly scandalous situation.

This could have been avoided. When Deputy Billy Kelleher tabled a parliamentary question last week about people availing of the fair deal scheme, the real story came out as to why the accident and emergency departments were in such crisis before Christmas. In January 2014 only 512 people were waiting for four weeks for approval under the fair deal scheme, but these numbers progressively increased over the year. In May, 1,265 people were waiting for up to eight weeks for approval. It got decidedly worse by October, when 2,114 people were waiting 15 weeks for approval.

It was a deliberate budgetary decision that the Taoiseach took to neglect health and that then led to delayed discharges from acute hospitals and, ultimately, to the accident and emergency crisis we are currently experiencing. As of 29 January, 1,333 people were waiting an average of 11 weeks.

A question, Deputy, please.

The HSE asked for €200 million to deal with demographic pressures for 2015 and it got €25 million, which is clearly inadequate. When one reads the consultants' analysis of the draft action plan, they say it lacks any concrete, clear recommendations in regard to increased capacity. The question is why did the Taoiseach deliberately choose a policy at the beginning of 2014 of starving the fair deal scheme, neglecting our elderly and creating this crisis about which he was warned? Does he accept that current plans are inadequate to deal with the enormity of the situation that faces acute hospitals and what does he propose to do about it?

The reason the Government made the decisions it made was that the Deputy's party left the country in an absolutely catastrophic economic situation. The Deputy denies that and denies all responsibility for it.

The Taoiseach has been running the shop now for four years.

This Government does not do that. We recognise the scale of the challenge we have faced as a country and as a people from the point of view of the economy and how that impacts on people every day. Today, on 10 February, the number of patients on trolleys was 462 at 8 a.m. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation also counts patients on trolleys on wards and that increases the number to more than 500. Yesterday, on 9 February, the number was 332 at 8 a.m., and 253 at 2 p.m. The day before, on Sunday, it was 280 at 8 a.m. and 189 at 2 p.m. On Saturday, 7 February, it was 237 at 8 a.m. and 150 at 2 p.m. The Minister has recognised the challenge that is there and has set up the particular task force to deal with emergency departments and numbers on trolleys. He has also pointed out how this has been exacerbated in respect of the flu-related admissions where approval was given to open up 173 extra beds in 15 units across the country for a specific 13-week period. The Department and the Minister have not tried to sweep under the carpet the scale of this challenge.

An allocation of €25 million was given to the fair deal scheme to reduce the waiting periods from 16 weeks and 17 weeks to what might be regarded as much more manageable periods of 11 weeks and eight weeks. It is not a satisfactory position but the simple fact of the matter is that it is very difficult to determine all the issues that can arise in health from week to week given that one does not know the scale of flu-related incidents or whatever else. The HSE is now accessing all suitable non-acute accommodation for dealing with and providing services to people who come in through emergency departments. The €25 million allocation in the national service plan is being used in addition to funding 50 transitional beds in the greater Dublin area, 65 beds that are to come on-stream in Mount Carmel on a phased basis from April and additional home care packages. Having regard to some hospitals around the country, I know of one nursing home which sent in nine patients one evening because of flu-related illnesses; these were elderly people who were not able to be attended to in an appropriate medical service within the nursing homes in question. These matters make the situation worse and it is not satisfactory but the Minister is acutely aware of it. He set up a particular unit to look at this and the HSE, as the Deputy knows, has the capacity to recruit necessary front-line services where that is necessary. As we pointed out on a number of occasions, we hope that the situation can be regularised and made more amenable.

I point out to the Deputy that €600 million more was allocated to the health budget for 2015 in order to deal with the challenges which arose from 2013 right through 2014.

The Taoiseach deliberately under-funded health throughout 2014 and he knew that when he pushed his budget towards the end of 2013. The then Minister, the Minister, Deputy James Reilly, knew it at the time, but the Taoiseach sacrificed him and the Taoiseach probably knew he was going to be sacrificed at some stage during 2014. It was a deliberate policy of neglect and that is why thousands of elderly people were waiting more than 15 weeks for a fair deal bed, and why we had such an extraordinary increase in delayed discharges. The Taoiseach had choices and, above all, he knew about it. The Minister, Deputy Varadkar, knew about it as well because he was told about it in his briefing notes when he became Minister. He was told there would be a crisis if something was not done but nothing was done before Christmas in terms of the fair deal scheme or making additional beds available. The Taoiseach took a calculated political decision that we will fly by the seat of our pants in regard to health and we hope we will get there by the end of the year, but he did not.

A question, Deputy, please.

The result is that people suffered because of the Taoiseach's deliberate political decision. He has choices in everything he does but he chose this particular route and he has not allocated enough for this particular area for 2015. The only reason €500 million extra was allocated is because that is the amount the Taoiseach deliberately short-changed it in the preceding year, and he was told that at the time. I remember it well in this House and there was an extraordinary scene where the then Minister disowned his own allocation at the time of the budget. He said they were not his figures, that he was handed them by the Minister, Deputy Howlin, and the Government and the famous Economic Management Council of the Cabinet. It was a diktat and it was one that short-changed the people and elderly people in particular. If the Taoiseach does not believe me, he should go out to the hospitals and talk to the doctors, nurses, care staff and others and they will tell him morale has never ever been so low in our health service.

It is because of the lack of leadership and the absolute neglect by the Taoiseach and his Government during the past number of years.

That is the same old story from Deputy Martin. When €16 billion was being spent on the health service, the situation was actually worse. Doctors and those managing hospitals will tell him that if he talks to them.

It was not.

They were not waiting 16 weeks for a fair deal scheme bed.

They are delivering more now with less than they were before because of changes to the structure and the way services are delivered.

Is that what the Economic Management Council has told the Taoiseach?

Regarding the fair deal scheme, as of 20 January, there were 1,260 people on the national placement list with an average waiting list of 11 weeks.

That is a disgrace. That is something the Taoiseach started.

Deputy Martin had his chance to raise his point. Everything with him is right and his memory is very short term.

Hear, hear.

The budget for the NHSS in 2015 is €948.8 million and that includes €10 million allocated specifically for the initiative related to delayed discharges. That increase of €10 million will allow for the provision of an additional 300 long-stay care places under the national homes support scheme. That has reduced the waiting period for allocation under the fair deal scheme from 17 weeks to 11 weeks. As the Deputy is aware, last year there was a further €5 million allocated for an initiative to improve access for appropriate care for older people. Nobody on this side of the House is suggesting, and this is now the Deputy's mantra, that the Government made a deliberate decision to do down elderly people. That is beneath the Deputy. It is a disgraceful comment from him.

The Taoiseach did that. He calculated it-----

That was his policy decision.

The Taoiseach might not like to hear that but that is what he did.

Deputies, please. We are over time.

When Deputy Martin stood on this side of the House and denied all responsibility-----

I am not making it up. The Taoiseach can read his Minister's replies to parliamentary questions.

-----for his actions, when a national crisis and emergency was declared-----

The Minister, Deputy Varadkar, has said it. It is there in black and white.

It is a giveaway for the elections.

Deputies, please.

We are four years on and there is a crisis now.

I am not suggesting that everything is the way that it should be in the Department of Health.

These are the Taoiseach's figures.

We put in €600 million more this year and we hope to regularise that. The Minister for Health has admitted that the situation is not the way it should be.

He has been a very good commentator.

That is why we are working to change that system-----

The Minister is great at spin but there is no substance.

-----so that people get the very best attention at the front line that they need.

It is all spin.

Thank you. I call Deputy Adams.