Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was informed earlier by the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, that it remains a Government commitment to extend the cath lab service to the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. This was meant to happen in March. It has not happened yet because it is necessary to hire another clinician to do so. That has not been possible to date. It is still intended to get that done this year, in the third quarter of the year. This demonstrates a difficulty that exists in healthcare generally, not just in Ireland but around the world. The easy part can often be the provision of infrastructure - for example, the building of a second cath lab - but the hard part can be finding sufficient staff who are willing to work 24-7, not just for a year or two but for the rest of their careers. That is why these 24-7 services often get centralised in a small number of places. The second cath lab is being provided. We are determined to extend the service to the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. as soon as possible.

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