The Minister for Health, together with the HSE, appointed an expert team to look at the urgent situation at University Hospital Limerick. That review started on Friday, 13 May and will conclude on Friday, 10 June. We are more than two weeks into the process this week. Yet, when I look at the figures since the review commenced, the numbers for the emergency department have gone up. The number was 62 on 13 May and it is 98 now. The average over the past week has been above 104. Where is the review at and what additional measures will be put in to address the issues? We have a serious situation in terms of overcrowding at the hospital even during the review period. I pay tribute to the staff, who have put in a huge amount of hard work. Will the Taoiseach or the Minister for Health give an update on the current position?

I agree the situation in University Hospital Limerick is not acceptable in terms of both the number of people waiting on trolleys and the patient experience times for those who may or may not be admitted. There is a very significant job of work going on. An expert team has gone in for four weeks, as the Deputy said, and it is expecting to finish its work towards the end of next week. I will then be engaging directly with the HSE on the matter. I have asked for very specific actions that can be taken to reduce the numbers coming into the hospital. We want to make sure the hospital has the resources it needs, not just in the emergency department but also in diagnostics and further up the hospital in terms of beds for people. Critically, one of the big pressures right now is delayed discharge. The latest advice I have for the region is that up to two in every three nursing homes are still not accessible for discharge because of the 14-day period that has to elapse after a Covid outbreak. I will revert to colleagues in the Dáil generally and to the Deputy when that work is completed.