The issue is a short term one and hoarding will not help

3 of the 247 medicines unavailable at the minute are on the World Health Organisation's "critical medicines" list.

PJ Larkin from Roscommon runs a knotweed control and eradication company and has also created a medicine using the root of the plant.

40 per cent the over 200 medicines currently out of stock were found to have just one supplier.

The new staff, once recruited, will be based outside of the hospital in the community.

Concerns have been raised that the vacancies, taken with those nationally, are making it difficult to tackle long patient waiting lists.