— Tallaght: Tallaght Hospital has been historically underfunded. It is the busiest hospital in the State but ranks lowest of the top five hospitals in Dublin for funding. Its catchment area has been expanded from 350,000 to 500,000. The Health Service Executive has identified the need for step down beds and improved primary care as major contributors to increasing pressure on the acute hospitals; recently, however it announced the closing of the Crooksling nursing home in Brittas. Tallaght and Clondalkin have twice the average number of people per general practitioner in Ireland and three times the average in France and Germany;

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