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

I thank the Deputy very much for raising this important issue. It has been raised with me by Deputies Feighan and MacSharry as well. It was expected that patients and staff at The Rock community hospital would move to the new community hospital in Ballyshannon this week. However, it emerged that following a vote taken by the nurses' union, staff refused to move to the new facility, citing concerns over staffing levels. In the interests of maintaining good employee relations, the HSE has agreed to defer the planned move and has requested further discussions on it. The Government stands ready to intervene. That would be through both sides going to the Workplace Relations Commission, which is under the auspices of the Minister, Deputy Coveney. The opening of the new community hospital in Ballyshannon is a priority and it will be fully operational at the earliest possible date.

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