I agree with the other speakers that the nurses' dispute must be sorted urgently.

This morning I spoke to a gentleman in Roscommon whose sister is living in Tipperary. He said she was to be brought in for a badly needed hip operation one month ago but that, after she had prepared herself, she got word at the last minute that she should stay at home. I got involved in the case and was assured she would be sorted this morning in Waterford hospital. Once again she prepared herself, but the result was the same.

It is a daily occurrence.

She landed at the hospital and was told to go home. That is some way to treat our elderly.

Hear, hear.

The number of patients on trolleys is increasing right around the country, but since 2012 there has been a 33% increase in the number of administrative staff in the health service. There are young children who need spinal operations but whose parents are told by letter that there is a 15-month waiting list, although their consultants say they need the operation sooner.

When a Deputy writes to the Minister for Health about problems in his constituency, he receives a letter back stating it is a HSE matter and that if he does not hear back from the HSE within 15 days, he should contact the Minister again. When one writes to the HSE, one receives the same blasé letter from someone who basically does not give two damns whether the patient is sorted or not. The officials would be better writing to the Deputy stating, "Tell your constituent to live in pain," because they do nothing about it. It is becoming more frustrating for every Deputy in this House. If there is a captain of the ship, he has got to sail it.

The Taoiseach spoke about money. There is more to organising hospitals than money. From what I can see, there are many chiefs and not enough Indians. Ultimately, one needs people to be organised. It may not be about money; it may be about people not handling staff correctly and not putting staff in the proper positions. Over the past four years, the health service has actually got worse. Let nobody deny that. If the people overseeing the service - the captain of the ship - are not solving the problem, do we need to look elsewhere and find some other way of solving it through some other person? At present, people around the country are losing faith very quickly. Will the Taoiseach take an interest himself, help the Minister and bring in the people who may be able to organise things? This charade must not continue, because people are losing their lives.

Deputy Fitzmaurice knows full well that I cannot comment on any individual cases that are raised here. Obviously, he is raising the case in question as an example of an individual who is naturally very upset because an operation that was to take place has been cancelled. I do not know the reasons for it. The surgeon may have been indisposed, or there may not have been sufficient nursing backup or a post-operative bed for the individual. There are things that need to happen in sequence for any operation so that there will be care and treatment available afterwards, with professional personnel and beds available for those who are treated. I do not know the individual cases the Deputy mentions.

Based on the TrolleyGAR count, this morning at 8 a.m. there were 287 patients on trolleys. Normally, the number declines during the course of the day. Deputy Fitzmaurice made the point that this may not be about money. When Deputy Martin doubled the allocation to the health sector, he had worse results.

No, we did not. The Taoiseach should not be telling untruths.

As I said to Deputy Fitzmaurice, he fled from the Department of Health and Children as soon as he got a chance.

The Government has made substantially more money available for next year than for 2015. There are greater facilities, additional nurses, additional consultants and additional personnel. In the sense of management, everybody clearly has an opportunity to assist in meeting this particular challenge. It does not just rest with the nurses in the accident and emergency departments, whom one will never see standing around talking because they are so busy dealing with the numbers coming through. I hope the emergency task force set up by the Minister, involving the director general of the HSE and the secretary general of the INMO, will continue to implement that plan because it is working and is clearly paying dividends. I am sorry about the good lady that the Deputy mentioned, but it is not for me to comment on individual cases. I know the Deputy understands that.

"Sorry" does not work any more in this country. People are fed up of waiting. Since 2012, 33% more administrative staff have been brought into the health service. I know from talking to people that when there was a problem in a place in Mayo, the Taoiseach's county, another layer of staff was put in to ensure management was always kept away from the hits of the media or whatever. This cannot continue. We need front-line staff. The one thing we need is someone who can organise the set-up. It is like any business in that one has to ensure one can organise people. Currently, it seems as though nobody is organising as captain of the ship. How long will the Taoiseach wait? It is not getting better. Will the Taoiseach contend with the same Minister if the service is not getting better? For one reason or another, one Minister moved away from the health portfolio. Everyone deserves a chance, and I am not saying they do not, but ultimately, there are patients, including children and the elderly, who deserve to be looked after. The problem has not been sorted. Will the Taoiseach commit to getting involved? Task forces are lovely, and it is lovely to be saying we will set them up, but actions speak louder than words. Simple stuff, rather than complicated, highfalutin stuff, will make a difference.

The Deputy has exceeded his time.

Will the Taoiseach get involved? There is a crisis. It is not just a niggardly thing that will go by the way. It is a crisis. I am asking the Taoiseach whether he will get involved with the Minister. If the system is not improving, a Minister must stand up and say he cannot solve the problem-----

Could the Deputy please resume his seat?

-----and that someone else should take the reins.

Deputy Fitzmaurice rightly says action speaks louder than words. It is true. There are now 700 more professional nurses working in the public system than just a year ago. When one comments on the work of any nurse, one should think of the output and productivity of 700 nurses in addition to those who were working in the system last year. There are 35,163 whole-time equivalent nurses, by comparison with 34,400 just a year ago.

I pointed out to the Deputy the reduction in the waiting time for the fair deal scheme from between 16 and 18 weeks to between two and four weeks. That frees up a couple of hundred beds. The Minister has secured extra funding for the health sector this year, with 300 beds to be opened before Christmas and a further 100 to be opened in January and February. That has to have an impact also.

On the Deputy's point on the management of people, it is of course the case that the health sector right across the board has a part to play, as do consultants, surgeons, nurses, carers and backup staff for professionals in the system.

The Deputy talks about the west. The Minister put in place the medical evacuation helicopter. I know of a case in which the helicopter flew from the far-flung regions of the west to Galway in 14 minutes and saved a person's life. These are developments that are never commented upon because they are advantageous and they benefit those in circumstances such as those of the good lady who was to have the hip operation.

She did not have it.

Operations are cancelled for very particular reasons.

It is because the system is overworked. It is broken.

The cancellation rate is approximately 1%. There has to be a reason for that. I am quite sure the person who was to carry out the operation will be able to explain that to the good lady involved. The cancellation rate is approximately 1% of operations carried out.