Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

This is an improvement and I wish the overall figure was zero, but the figure is going in the right direction, just like that pertaining to hospital infections and some of the other issues mentioned in our amendment.

Deputy Perry mentioned Sligo General Hospital, where the absentee rate is just under 5%, or 9,222 hours per month. In Navan hospital, the relevant figure is 4.74%, or 3,549 hours per month. In Letterkenny General Hospital, the figure is 10,392 hours per month. In Portiuncula Hospital, the figure is 4,982 hours per month. The HSE is working with those hospitals to address the absentee issue but we must all be at one, in that these rates of absenteeism in our health service cannot be justified.

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