Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Capital projects of this size have to be future proofed. The good thing about the proposal is that a group of people came together and with no gain to themselves. It is about how the services for Cork city and surrounding areas develop in the future. A project of this size takes a great deal of time. I think there are about three preferred sites but that is an issue for the Cork development plan. I think more than anything else that has to come into play. The good thing is that the two hospitals that should merge, in terms of delivery of service, have already agreed to that. Sometimes it is difficult to get two hospitals to agree to this. The physical location of a hospital of this size will be a key issue not just in terms of how services will develop but in terms of how the chosen location will allow access for both sides of the city and allow the city to develop around it. It is not in the recently published capital plan. That is not surprising as the report was completed only a number of months ago. The proposal will have to be looked at in terms of planning for the near future, but I assume it would be the mid-term future in terms of development.