Gilmore dismisses 'hidden trollies' claim

The Tánaiste has dismissed claims that trollies are being hidden in some hospitals to lower counts of patients being accommodated on them.

Fianna Fáil's Billy Kelleher raised the issue in the Dáil after the claim was made at the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation's annual conference in Killarney.

He said that in some hospitals, patients on trollies were being moved to areas where they were not counted to manipulate the figures, in order to comply with Government pressure to reduce the numbers on trollies.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said he did not see how trollies could be hidden "on a practical level", nor why anyone would wish to hide trollies.

Earlier, at the INMO conference, president Sheila Dickson said trollies were being moved "to caress" the figures.