Vol. 390 No. 1
asked the Minister for Health if he will make a statement on the position of the 12 temporary nurses (details supplied) employed in St. Munchin's Regional Maternity Hospital, Limerick; and when it is anticipated that there will be permanent posts in the hospital.
125.
asked the Minister for Health if he will ensure that St. Munchin's Regional Maternity Hospital, Limerick, will be allocated some nursing posts in phase 2 of the staffing agreement for the region due to be decided shortly, in view of the fact that it had no permanent posts in the last allocation and that it is catering for the full maternity services for the area since the closing of the Cahercalla unit.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 124 and 125 together.
Under the special arrangements to which the Deputy refers, a further 84 appointments to posts currently filled on a temporary basis will be sanctioned for the Mid-Western Health Board. The board have now submitted proposals to my Department as to how these posts should be allocated and these proposals involve a minimum of six nursing appointments at the Regional Maternity Hospital. My formal approval to these appointments will be conveyed once the board's other proposals have been examined. In addition, the board may bring forward in the normal way any further requests for additional permanent appointments at the hospital and these will be sympathetically considered by my Department. However, the staffing profile at the Regional Maternity Hospital is in the first instance a matter for the Mid-Western Health Board.
