€150m healthcare facilities idle as cuts bite

HEALTH care facilities worth up to €150 million are lying idle around the country because of government funding shortages.

Last night Opposition spokesperson for Health, Fine Gael’s Olivia Mitchell said it was “a disgrace” that facilities funded by the taxpayer weren’t being used.

In the Midland Health Board (MHB), a 12-bed observation ward in Mullingar General Hospital has been under lock and key since last September because of staff shortages and funding requirements.