Munster is suffering from a lack of neurologists, says general election candidate Jerry Buttimer.

Mr Buttimer, who is a Fine Gael local councillor in Cork South Central, was speaking at the start of Brain Awareness Week. He said that only three positions for a proposed level of 13 neurologists had been created in the region.

A report in 2003 recommended that Munster should have 13 resident neurologists, Mr Buttimer said. There were to be six at Cork University Hospital, three in Limerick and four in Waterford. He said in fact there were just three in Cork, and none at all in Limerick or Waterford.

"Even more alarming is the fact that we have no specialised rehabilitation unit for people with neurological conditions. Patients have to travel up to the National Rehabilitation Unit in Dún Laoghaire for specialised treatment," he said.

Broadcaster and chairman of the Road Safety Authority, Gay Byrne, launched Brain Awareness Week on Monday. The week's events are co-ordinated by the Neurological Alliance of Ireland and Trinity Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin.