Neither my party nor I has any desire to use the issue of ICU capacity to blame Fine Gael or anybody else for the spread of the virus. To do so would be disingenuous. However, we are very concerned about capacity in hospitals. I have spoken to many hospital managers in recent days. In my region, the south east, University Hospital Waterford had one spare ICU bed yesterday. The hospital manager told me there has been a massive increase in hospital admissions, with 176 admissions yesterday. There was a significant increase in trauma cases and because there was no ICU capacity in hospitals in Wexford or Tipperary there was significant demand for transfers into University Hospital Waterford. Hospital managers have told me that without additional capacity we are facing a very real problem and that what has been promised in terms of additional ICU and acute beds simply will not be enough. Will the Tánaiste tell them that if more beds than those committed to in the winter plan are needed, as I believe they are, the Government will make those resources available as soon as possible?

The short answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes". Covid pandemic or no Covid pandemic, we should increase our critical care bed capacity to in the region of 400 or 500 beds. We should be doing that anyway. We have made progress in recent years, but it has not been enough. Efforts in that regard need to continue. As the Deputy appreciates, it is not as simple as just providing a bed. An ICU bed is quite a thing and must be very heavily staffed. It is often the case that staff are not available. That is not just the case in Ireland; it is a problem in many places around the world. I was glad to hear the Deputy's initial remarks. We will monitor what he and other Sinn Féin spokespeople have to say. His comments were not made in the tone I have heard from some other Deputies.