Martin ‘buck-passing’ on hospital funding issue

HEALTH MINISTER Micheál Martin is “buck-passing” on a funds issue threatening the development of a hospital where some equipment would not be out of place in the Third World, FG TD Jim O’Keeffe has said.

He said the single biggest issue was a plan to effectively downgrade the surgical services at Bantry General Hospital, but there were other questions to be answered.

Mr O’Keeffe said a rehabilitation and assessment unit had been built but had been lying idle since December due to a lack of funds for staff.