James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy has acknowledged, we have approved more posts for Letterkenny. The reality is there is a difficulty in recruiting but we continue to recruit actively and to use agency locums to ensure we provide a safe service for the people of Letterkenny. I congratulate the staff of Letterkenny General Hospital and the wider hospital group which provided support from Galway from Bill Maher and his team and the board. I also acknowledge the help from Altnagelvin during the flooding. The unit is fit to re-open and we look forward to seeing the Deputy at the opening. Letterkenny General Hospital is a critical part of our health service and it will be supported. I have no doubt we will be able to attract more doctors to Letterkenny by means of rotation within the hospital group. This is one of the benefits of the hospital group because staff will not be recruited to work in Letterkenny specifically but will be recruited for the north-west hospital group and will go on rotation between the hospitals during the course of their training. This system will also make available to Letterkenny and the people of Donegal a greater level of expertise than was the case heretofore.

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