A row has erupted at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin between management and a number of staff who are seeking cribs to be set up in the foyer and on hospital wards.

A petition “to save the crib” with more than 1,000 signatures was being ignored, a source told The Irish Times. “A lof of elderly patients are very upset. The children visiting like to see it. The staff like to see it.”

In a response, the hospital pointed out that “Beaumont has a crib in the hospital chapel, which is open to all staff, patients and relatives. Daily Mass is held here at 1pm and all are welcome.”

The HSE respects the spiritual practice of all denominations and recognises the increasing secularisation of Irish society It “acknowledges that the wider hospital community is multicultural and therefore multifaith”. Because of this, the hospital operates “on an interdenominational basis, with chaplaincy facilities shared among the accredited Churches assigned to the hospital, namely Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic,” the statement read.

Beaumont Hospital celebrated its 30th anniversary last month.

A spokeswoman for the Health Service Executive said that where it was concerned “there is no general policy in place. Local arrangements may apply following consultation with staff/patients/local community.”