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10 Feb 2026
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10 Feb 2026
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Naas General Hospital. File pic.
Sinn Féin TD for North Kildare, Réada Cronin, who stood alongside workers in Naas General Hospital yesterday as they protested against staffing deficits, has said that the government is to blame for the substandard conditions currently in the hospital.
According to the INMO, it has tried to engage Health Service Executive (HSE) management on the matter of staffing, but claimed that "no substantive action has been taken to increase staffing in line with agreed safe staffing frameworks".
Speaking at the protest yesterday afternoon, Deputy Cronin said that staffing conditions have deteriorated so much that it is now affecting patient safety and staff wellbeing.
Deputy Cronin said: “I fully support the nurses and staff at Naas General Hospital in their strike action. This staffing crisis didn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of years of political choices, warnings ignored and frontline workers taken for granted.
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“The government have ignored repeated calls from the INMO to invest in our health service here in Naas, and we are seeing the consequences bear out today. I spoke with so many nurses who have different versions of the same story to tell. Underinvestment in the hospital, poor working conditions, overworked, underpaid.
“These workers should be enjoying their break on lunch today, a break that I am sure is rarely given to them because of how much they are worked. There are currently 70 vacancies on the nursing staff that haven’t been filled, while the nurses and staff are asked to pick up the pieces. This is completely unsustainable.”
Deputy Cronin called on the government to implement a long-term plan for Naas General Hospital to ensure adequate staffing and proper conditions.
For example, she said, agency nurses need more stable, full-time work, instead of the the on-call, part-time nature of the work they do.
Nurses, Deputy Cronin said, “are being pushed to breaking point”, and patients are paying the price.
Deputy Cronin concluded: “That is on the Government. I will continue to support the nurses and staff of Naas General hospital until conditions improve and their demands are met.”
According to a representative for the INMO, the organisation intends to continue its work-to-rule action again today (Tuesday, February 10 2026).
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