Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

As today is budget day, which will involve considerable debate on both sides of the House, I do not want to go into this matter yet. However, the staff at Letterkenny General Hospital are experiencing a serious work overload. The nurses there are working at 110% of capacity. For the past two days they have had to close the day care unit because they do not have 40 beds which were promised by the Department of Health and Children. Rather than asking for the Minister to come to the House, I ask for the Leader's indulgence in trying to contact somebody in the Department. The nurses went public yesterday to express their concern about not only the staffing problems, but also patient care.