The Dublin County Coroner is reportedly calling for urgent action to prevent further superbug-related deaths at a hospital in south Co Dublin.
Reports this morning say the call follows the deaths of 16 people with hospital-acquired infections at St Colmcille's Hospital in Loughlinstown over a seven-month period last year.
All 16 patients had contracted either MRSA or Clostridium difficile.
The infections have been cited as the direct cause of death in half the cases and a contributory factor in the others.
Reports this morning say the coroner has reportedly vowed to write to the HSE seeking the early appointment of a microbiologist at the hospital in an effort to address the problem.
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