The question of why there are beds lying idle in Monaghan Hospital has been raised this lunchtime with the Taoiseach Simon Harris.
In the past few minutes Deputy Matt Carthy highlighted in the Dail that there are currently 7 beds closed in the Diamond Ward.
He told the Taoiseach there are 3 rooms within that ward and they are now being used for storage space. Deputy Carthy said the Diamond Ward opened to much fanfare with the Minister stating 7 new beds were opening in Monaghan Hospital but in fact there were only 2 extra beds.
The Sinn Fein TD asked if Simon Harris would intervene in relation to this situation, Taoiseach Harris said he would deal directly with the Health Minister and the HSE in relation to this issue. Deputy Carthy said this ward needs to be open quickly so we can utilise Monaghan hospital to its full potential