There were 113 patients on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick yesterday; the figure is 110 today. At the end of April, the Taoiseach deployed a HSE support team to the hospital to address pressures on health services in the mid-west region. A month on, nothing has changed. University Hospital Limerick remains in a constant state of emergency and is under huge pressure every single day. The Taoiseach needs to stop with the window-dressing and take real action to make a difference. UHL needs 288 additional beds. We need the Government to fast-track them. UHL is short of the staff it needs. The Government needs to lift its dangerous recruitment ban. The mid-west needs a real health plan, including increased step-down and community beds and a review of the closure of Ennis and Nenagh emergency departments. The people of Limerick and the mid-west deserve better than the chaos the Government is delivering.

I have never heard the former Chief Justice Frank Clarke described as "window-dressing" before. He is carrying out a major report on UHL. The fact the Government has appointed a former Chief Justice, the top former judge in the country, to look into the situation outlines the seriousness we attach to a number of concerning incidents which have happened in the hospital. We have seen record levels of investment and staff and have now asked HIQA to carry out a review, including - to address the Deputy's point about the region - whether there is a need for a second emergency department in the mid-west.