Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will correct what I said. The 51 WTEs are not a national but a regional deployment. It is just within the hospital group. Ennis Hospital will see an additional 20 WTEs just for this programme. It is a very significant increase in investment. The hospital group has been approved for more than €5 million in funding to essentially extend the opening hours, as the Deputy quite rightly said. This is part of an ongoing investment in Ennis Hospital. The Deputy will be very aware of the new €2 million minor injury unit that opened in April of last year to replace the existing unit, which had been in the main building for a very long time, since around 2013. As these extra 20 staff are brought in, relevant staff in Ennis Hospital will be in discussions with the HSE and the hospital group to see whether the hours can be expanded further and if patient demand warrants it.

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