I welcome the speedy inquiry into the voting debacle.

I might direct the Taoiseach's attention to what is the norm in our hospital in Galway. However, it highlights in the most acute way the utter failure of the Taoiseach and the Government to focus on public health and the hospital in Galway. As recently as 25 September in the Taoiseach's absence, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, answered questions and I raised the hospital in Galway. I specifically raised it in the context of the INMO statement that warned that Saolta management should be gravely concerned due to the high levels of missed care, delayed care and poor patient outcomes arising from the number of nursing and midwifery vacancies.

I went on to highlight the 200 vacancies. The Taoiseach has referred to primary care, which is an illusion. I mentioned the de facto embargo in primary care and I mentioned 11 posts. I spoke of the continued closure of a theatre at Merlin Park and a consultant telling us that the situation was unbearable and that management could not cope with it. Since then I have discovered that there have been 13 external reviews into the situation at the hospital over a ten-year period, which is more than one a year. It looks like we are heading for another external review.

A family contacted me about what happened to their 74 year old mother. I ask the Taoiseach to listen and put himself in the shoes of that woman or, indeed, on the trolley on which she spent 72 hours even though the policy and ethos in the hospital require that it be no more than 24 hours. That woman was admitted from another hospital with a suspected infection, which I might add was hospital acquired. Subsequently, during her three days on the trolley she was found on the floor screaming in pain.

Nobody knows how it happened. She was taken back to a bed or trolley and left for five solid hours without having an X-ray or pain relief. The family who have no medical training diagnosed that she had a broken hip. As the Taoiseach can imagine, it must have been very obvious. Subsequently, when they had a little energy, almost two and a half weeks later they made a formal complaint, but they heard nothing from the hospital until the formal complaint was made. Once it was made, they received a telephone call and learned that some investigation was in being. We do not know what type of investigation is being carried out, who is behind it, when it started or when it will be completed. I want the Taoiseach to take a hands-on approach. I also want the Minister for Health to come into the Dáil with a written statement and convey to us verbally what happened to this patient in Galway, how it happened, why the family were not contacted and explain to us exactly what happened because, unfortunately, it is not unusual or uncommon.

I am very sorry to hear about what happened to that lady and, of course, my thoughts are with her family. As is often the way when an individual case is raised in the Dáil, I am loath to speak about it because I do not have all or any of the facts of some of individual cases. However, I have been informed that there is an investigation under way into this case. There is a Garda investigation and one by the hospital authorities. I do not think it would be appropriate for me or the Minister for Health to comment on an ongoing Garda investigation or one by the hospital authorities that is ongoing, but I absolutely agree that whatever happened in this case, the incident needs to be investigated thoroughly by the Garda if there is a criminal aspect to it - I understand there may be - and by the hospital authorities in respect of her medical care. The Minister for Health and I will follow up on the case and make sure any investigation that should be carried out is carried out, but for very good reasons mentioned, we will not be commenting on any investigation while it is ongoing.

As the Taoiseach has not used the three minutes available to him, I might take some of the time for my answer because this case is really serious. I am not asking the Taoiseach to comment on the individual facts. That is not possible and it is not my way. I am asking him to acknowledge that both he and the Government have been put on notice repeatedly about the state of the hospital in Galway. It is not fit for purpose. It is No.1 on the risk register in terms of capacity. We have put the Taoiseach on notice about this. I have pointed out that in a period of ten years there have been 13 external reviews, or more than one per year, carried out. I am not talking about an internal or other type of review which, presumably, includes those carried out by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA. In this case the woman was allegedly assaulted by somebody who was drunk and roaming about with a carer but not being properly cared for. There was no porter to take the woman to a hospital between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. There were no security staff. One cleaner appeared to clean up the mess when the person who was allegedly drunk also went to another patient. The family were told, "Let's go forward." Can the Taoiseach imagine from his previous life a diagnosis of a hip fracture being made by a patient's daughter who has no medical experience? I want him to consider this in the context of what other Deputies and I have continually said to show him that the hospital in Galway is not fit for purpose. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation put him on notice that it was "gravely concerned", that there would be "delayed care", "missed care", "poor care" and so on. I really want an answer to the question about the absence of staff, the overburdened health system and the collateral damage of people suffering, not just from their illnesses but also from mismanagement in a health system that is not fit for purpose.

I absolutely acknowledge that the Deputy is putting us on notice about this issue, issues in the hospital in Galway and the health care system in general. There has been considerable investment in University Hospital Galway in recent years.

The budget has been increased year on year for the last three, four or, perhaps, five years and there are more staff. The new 75-bed block, all individual rooms, which was opened in the last 18 months is a good addition to the hospital too. We have never had a bigger health budget than we have now and we have never had more staff working in the health service than we have now, but I appreciate that it is not enough. We need to increase the number of staff and budgets for health care further. All of this is provided for in the budget to which we agreed only a week or two ago. We need to add more beds to the hospital system, as well as investing in primary care services. When it comes to the hospital in Galway specifically, there is another new block in planning - a new emergency department - which I accept is long overdue. As part of the new block, there will be maternity and paediatric services also. We need to get it through planning and start building it.