Mayo University Hospital is under immense difficulty at the moment, particularly the emergency department. A couple of weeks ago electives were cancelled in the hospital. Research I have done found that a safe staffing framework for which an audit was carried out in 2021 was only recently sanctioned, and those posts still have to be filled. Mayo has a unique patient cohort, and I ask the Taoiseach to come to Mayo to visit the hospital. We have a significant issue with step-down facilities and home care packages that are having a knock-on effect on the hospital. Will the Taoiseach come to Mayo to visit the hospital and the step-down facilities we have in Mayo?

The Minister for Health is seized of the situation across the country, including Mayo. We have allocated significant additional resources to the Health Service Executive this year, compared with last year. Population is growing and there are lots of pressures on acute hospitals. I will talk to the Minister in the first instance with respect to the issues the Deputy has raised. Obviously, during the Christmas and flu period certain electives were postponed. We know that. That is normal. It happens when there is a particularly bad flu season as there was in November, December and January. The Minister is working with the hospital's management and clinicians to make sure we continue to reform as we allocate additional spending.