Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael)

Unlike Deputy Sherlock, the Minister does not owe me anything. I have a similar question in regard to the county hospital in Nenagh. There is a new CT scanner there which is not operational because there is no staff. It is crazy in the context of waste in the health service. What the Minister did for Nenagh hospital was to close 25 beds under the cutbacks and reduce it to a 75 bed unit. It has operated comfortably with 95 to 100 beds over a number of years but the Minister, in her wisdom, has cut it back to 75 beds.

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