Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. As a TD representing the lovely city and county of Waterford and as a Minister of State in the Department of Health, I am pleased to inform the House of the position. First, however, I apologise to the Taoiseach that I did not have the information for him. This was due to the fact that it was only breaking news and that I was on a flight this morning that was delayed.

There is really positive news. The general manager of University Hospital Waterford received sanction to immediately commence recruitment to implement weekend cover in the cath lab under the pay and numbers strategy. Recruitment is expected to take approximately three months, with weekend cover expected to commence in October. Five consultant cardiologists will be part of the multidisciplinary teams providing 365-day cover, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. I thank Deputy Ó Cathasaigh and Senator John Cummins, who also encouraged their party leaders to support me while we worked on this for the past 12 months.

See this speech in context