Another 250 private beds are to be provided for long-stay public patients in addition to the 250 beds provided last November, the Dáil was told.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said it was unacceptable that elderly patients had to wait a long time on trolleys in A&E departments. The Health Service Executive (HSE) had informed him that it "has got clearance for another 250 private beds which will take long-term public acute patients".
He was responding to Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny who said that 314 people were on trolleys on Tuesday and the Government should be able to do much better than that. Resources had trebled, but the situation was getting worse.
Mr Ahern said however, that in the Dublin hospitals A&E admissions had increased by about 20 per cent, "admissions of older people have increased substantially and twice as many people presented with flu in the past six weeks compared to this time last year, because of the colder weather. Winter vomiting has been a feature every year."
Mr Kenny also said it was time that "assaulting a member of staff in an accident and emergency unit is classed as a particular offence", given the level of assaults on frontline hospital staff, "who must bear the brunt of the Government's failure in this regard". He said that "drunks and their hangers-on" go to A&E units at the weekend "to cause intimidation and assaults on frontline staff". The Taoiseach pointed out that drunks had always been going to A&E units but it was only in recent years that drugs users were attending. "It is true we now have a violent element and gardaí are almost permanently based in the city hospital A&E units. Security personnel have been there for many years."
