I wish to again raise the matter of overcrowding at Letterkenny University Hospital. This morning there were 22 patients on trolleys or in hospital wards due to the overcrowding and yesterday there were 43. The HSE confirmed to my colleague, Councillor Gerry McMonagle, yesterday that it will open the ten beds in the short stay ward in January. Has the Government not sanctioned opening the 20 beds in that ward given the current level of overcrowding? Some 4,700 people have been on hospital trolleys or in overcrowded wards so far this year as a result of the capacity issue. The ward and the 20 beds are there, yet sanction has only been given from the Government to the HSE to open ten of them. Can the Taoiseach explain why the people of Donegal are being denied the other ten beds?

The Government does not sanction individual beds in hospitals. We have sanctioned a very big increase of approximately €1 billion in health spending for next year, but the sanctioning of individual budgets for hospitals or parts of hospitals is carried out at either HSE or hospital group level. This morning, once again, there is an enormous variation in overcrowding. There is zero or one in some hospitals such as Mullingar or Blanchardstown and very high numbers in other hospitals, including hospitals that have received extra beds. What we must see in the new year is whether the additional beds in Letterkenny are used to the maximum benefit of the patients and whether overcrowding goes down. If they are used to maximum benefit and bring overcrowding down, it can then be extended further.