Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

It certainly was. With all due respect, this is another insult not only to the people of Dundalk and County Louth but also the north east. Clearly, it was a stunt in advance of the general election in which the Minister participated. Had she taken any time to establish if the HSE were going to ensure the human resources would be in place to operate this facility? Is she aware that it took until July before the service even opened for one day per week and that it then ground to a halt completely? Is she conscious that the Taoiseach committed on the floor of the Chamber that this facility would be up and running from March? From March until September and the announcement of the recent embargo on recruitment by the HSE the equipment remained virtually inoperable for all but one day per week. What is the HSE's excuse, and what vigilance did the Department exercise, in regard to the scandalous situation in which high tech equipment lay largely idle? What excuse does the HSE have for not recruiting staff to operate it? What excuse does the Minister offer? She need not trundle out the notion of an embargo on recruitment. There was no embargo in place over those months.

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