A number of years ago, a commitment was given to the people of Mullingar that if they fundraised to buy an MRI scanner, the HSE would provide a building to house the scanner and staff to run it. The building has been completed and the scanner has been purchased and delivered.

We now have a scanner in a building with no staff approved to carry out the necessary works. I ask the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health to intervene with the HSE in order to ensure that the request for additional staff is approved without any further delay. It is quite bizarre that a critical piece of infrastructure is in place but that there are no staff to operate it.

I will certainly make inquiries with the HSE about the matter. We have approved a budget for the HSE to recruit an additional 6,000 staff this year. That is on top of the 20,000 additional staff who had been hired since the Government came into office. I do not know exactly why the radiology department in Mullingar has not been allocated staff from 6,000. I will make inquiries and come back to the Deputy.