Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

With all due respect, what the Minister of State has just said does not make any sense. She is saying that a review of staffing has been undertaken in consultation with the nursing unions with a view to ensuring safe and adequate staffing levels within the hospital. Anyone reading that would presume that there may not be safe and adequate staffing levels at present and therefore we should be looking at increasing them. However, the reconfiguration of staffing levels to ensure that there is a safe level of staff within the hospitals entails cutting 21 whole-time equivalent posts. That makes no sense. I am glad that the interim period is being extended until the issue comes before the WRC, but staff are telling us that the conditions are unsafe and the Minister of State's answer is not to employ more staff but to cut 21 posts. It is ridiculous.

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