People Before Profit TD and spokesperson on Health, Gino Kenny, has called on the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, to appear before and emergency sitting of the Joint Oireachtas Health Committee before the resumption of the Dáil.

The TD said that the crisis in hospitals and emergency departments around the country meant that the Minister must make himself available to the committee for questioning.

The TD said: “The crisis situation in our hospitals and emergency departments is due to a chronic understaffing and under resourcing of public health in this country, coupled with the impact of RSV, Covid and flu.

“There is no question that the various raspatory viruses and Covid are resulting in many people having to visit hospital, but there also needs to be a recognition that the chronic under resourcing of our public health system and understaffing has led to a situation where our public health system us vulnerable when these instances occur.

With waiting lists skyrocketing and our hospitals under unprecedented strain I am calling on the Minister to make himself available for an emergency sitting of the Health Committee so the opposition can have a change to question him on the decisions he and his government are making.”