Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is no Department that allows the sectors that it is responsible for to recruit staff without a budget to do so. That is what the HSE did in the past, but not any more. This does not mean that the HSE is not recruiting. It is. We need to provide more money, and we are. That is why there are significantly more doctors and nurses in the system now than 12 months ago. We will continue to do that.

There are real pressures on accident and emergency departments. This is particularly so in Limerick, where there is a specific plan in place - working with a winter plan team - to try to deal with those pressures while we build new capacity in Limerick in terms of more beds, as planned by the Government.

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