FF TD wants fines imposed on unhygienic hospitals

The chair of the Oireachtas health committee has called for fines to be imposed on hospitals that fail to meet hygiene standards.

Fianna Fáil TD John Maloney said tough measures were needed to improve hygiene and stamp out the spread of superbugs in hospitals.

"This is an issue that has created havoc in the health system over the last number of months and quite obviously it needs direct action," he said.

"Our action that we'll be proposing before the committee is that legislation should be brought in to crack down on hospitals which do not follow hygiene standards."