Hospital Staff
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-19
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Manus Boyle (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach

The Minister of State has responsibility for older people. I totally understand what he is trying to do here. It is great that six beds will be opened in June and July. That is great news for the people in Killybegs Community Hospital. I know the HSE faces staffing challenges. However, we have to target small community hospitals throughout the country, including the one in Killybegs. Hospitals need to have beds reopened. For a small community in south-west Donegal, six beds are great. We need to get all 11 opened. As the Minister of State will know from being in public life, we often get a phone call on a Friday evening from a family looking for a bed when there is no bed there and we end up ringing around. These people just want to be close to their loved ones. It is a long distance from Killybegs to the hospitals in Letterkenny and Sligo. I am very appreciative that the beds are reopening. I ask the Minister of State to double down to make sure that all 11 are opened as soon as possible.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:57+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-19