The Taoiseach has said that funding is available for an additional consultant to be hired to deal with the rising number of patients attending the Mater Hospital with adult congenital heart defects, but that nobody has applied for the job.
Cardiologists at the Mater Hospital have warned that the service dealing with adult congenital heart defects has been stretched to a critical point and more resources are urgently needed.
The two consultants working in the service say they are dealing with around 4,000 patients, without adequate resources, staffing levels or laboratories.
Around 400 patients every year are transferred from the paediatric services to the adult service dealing with congenital heart defects.
Speaking during Leaders Questions in the Dáil this afternoon, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said a post, to be split between the Mater and Crumlin Children's Hospital, has been advertised worldwide but no applications have been received.
Mr Kenny said the post would be re-advertised shortly and he appealed for anyone interested in the position to contact the Mater Hospital.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, who raised the issue, claimed that 350 people are dying each year because of overcrowding and he accused Mr Kenny of failing to provide the necessary resources because of his vision for a private rather than public healthcare system.
Mr Kenny rejected this claim and said that the money was there to fill the post.
Consultant cardiologist Professor Kevin Walsh this morning said that lives are being put at risk due to a lack of resources.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Prof Walsh said that following NHS recommendations would mean there should be four full-time consultants and five full-time nurses at the Mater Hospital.
However, he said there are just two part-time consultants and two nurses filling the roles.
In addition there is a shortage of administration staff while access to the catheter laboratory is very limited, he added.
There was a pressing and urgent need to sort the situation out, he said adding: "There's people who aren't getting any care at all. They're only coming when they're ill."
He said: "We are waiting for a new consultant since 2007 and again last year when it was meant to be advertised and a person appointed, they put it back and moved the job around."
While the paediatric service is considered world class with a 95% patient success rate, the consultants running the adult service say they are dealing with an unsustainable burden caused by poor resources.
The consultants say they are only able to provide three patient sessions each week to run a clinic and carry out procedures, while services in the UK dealing with an equivalent number of patients would provide 50-55 sessions to look after patients there.
