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24 Feb 2026
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24 Feb 2026
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Letterkenny General Hospital
The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, has agreed to meet with Donegal doctors to discuss the Letterkenny Surgical Hub controversy.
The Bruckless-based Senator was part of a group that met with Minister Carroll MacNeill at Leinster House, and he praised her for listening to the concerns he and his colleagues had.
A meeting was organised with Minister Carroll MacNeill after a group of 171 Donegal doctors voiced their concerns after it was revealed that a new surgical him was expected to be based at Sligo University Hospital rather than Letterkenny University Hospital, a move that clinicians in Donegal said was “flawed, unjustified, and deeply damaging.”
The doctors, who were based at Letterkenny University Hospital or were local GPs, felt the decision was a critical threat to patient care and health equality in the North West, and called for an urgent meeting with Minister Carroll MacNeill.
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Senator Manus Boyle said: “We met with Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. We had a good meeting with her.
“I think all the public representatives would have to say that we got a fair hearing. She listened intensely. She knows the problems in Donegal, and she knows geographically the problems.
“She has agreed to meet the doctors next week, which I had asked her to do earlier in the week, so I would like to thank her for that.
“I think when she meets the doctors and hears from them firsthand what we need in Donegal. That is going to happen next week, and that is where we are at the moment.”
Senator Nikki Bradley posted: "Last night, I joined my fellow Donegal Oireachtas colleagues for a constructive meeting with the Minister to discuss Letterkenny University Hospital in general but more specifically Letterkenny’s need for a surgical hub. Every single member of the Donegal Oireachtas was united in that view — a rare and powerful show of cross-party agreement.
Donegal needs and deserves more.
"The Minister expressed her strong willingness to keep lines of communication open and continue engaging on this issue. I will work tirelessly to ensure our hospital is supported to deliver the care and services the people of Donegal need and deserve.
This photo is from the Minister’s recent visit to Letterkenny in May, where she met with members of Fine Gael and the wider Donegal community."
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