Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The reality is that three years ago the commissioning team in CHI put in a request for 382.8 whole-time equivalent staff and they believe they have got little or no response from the HSE or the Department of Health. In fact, in the words of one, they have never been so far behind in the staffing of a new hospital project. We need to make sure that that staffing is put in place next year because the public expect at the very least that the hospital will maintain existing services and will increase its services over time. We will see a reduction in services next winter to ensure that the transition can happen safely, and there are questions about all that, but the critical thing now is that the proper recruitment and funding for that are put in place in order that the public gets the children's hospital it deserves in 12 months' time.

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