A proposal to cut nearly €10 million in the Northeast's health service funding would have a devastating effect if implemented, Sinn Fein warned today.
Dáil leader and health spokesman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said the region had already been subjected to cutbacks and people had died as a consequence.
Mr Ó Caoláin, who is also a TD for Cavan/Monaghan, was speaking after an internal Health Service Executive (HSE) document revealed proposals outlining ways of addressing the Northeast region's project €9.7 million budget over-run.
"It is intolerable that the HSE is suggesting further cuts in the Northeast when the healthcare service in the region is already in deep crisis," Mr Ó Caoláin said, adding that per capita funding in the region was below the national average.
The report, obtained by the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO), suggests €600,000 could be saved by reversing the decision to appoint a second consultant oncologist to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and a reduction in renal dialysis services at Cavan General Hospital.
It also proposes a ban on recruitment for new posts and a reduction in the number of agency nurses employed at the five acute hospitals in the region.
However, the report recognises that patient welfare would be compromised and the there could be industrial unrest if the cutbacks were implemented.
The INO's Tony Fitzpatrick called for a meeting with the HSE to "clarify their intentions". "It is extremely worrying as their own report says patient safety could be compromised," he told RTE radio.
A spokeswoman for the HSE said: "Management at the hospitals in the North East are currently examining options to assist in meeting their requirement to operate within the approved funding allocation in the current year."
She added: "This examination is being carried out in conjunction with the HSE North East Hospitals Network and includes a review of historic cost and funding levels at the hospitals."