Question No. 7.

It is No. 5.

I am sorry - it is No. 5.

With regard to page 58 of A Programme for a Partnership Government and the commitment to build capacity in our hospitals, I raise again the issue of Letterkenny University Hospital. I have raised this several times before, including last week, and I raise it again because people are still on trolleys. People are still waiting for access to a bed in a hospital and people are still waiting for a response from the Government as to whether bed capacity will be increased at the hospital. I have outlined to the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, on several occasions that a request was made for an additional 20 beds to be opened in an empty ward in the hospital. The Government has simply ignored this request. When I raised it with the Taoiseach last week, he listed a number of other hospitals across the country where the number of beds had been increased and he made some throwaway remark about Letterkenny and the need to change practices. Was that a throwaway remark or was a specific request made of Letterkenny to change work practices in order to get additional beds because that has not been communicated to people there? They have simply been ignored and the people of Donegal are being ignored.

The Taoiseach to respond.

It is time for an answer. If we cannot have it today, we need it immediately after this session from the Taoiseach.

I saw the note from the Deputy on that last week and I got a note this morning which informed me that funding to open those beds in Letterkenny had not been approved but it did not give me a reason as to why not. I asked why 170 additional beds were funded in other hospitals around the country and why Letterkenny did not make the cut. I do not know the answer to that yet, but perhaps the Deputy would get a quicker response by asking about it in the form of a parliamentary question or a Topical Issue to the Minister for Health.

I can assure the Taoiseach that is not the case. I have been asking for a month and there is no response. It is simply being ignored.

I have made the request myself to find out why because I would like to know.