I thank Mr. Breslin for his reply. How will the cost overruns on this project will affect other projects? Project Ireland 2040 contains plans for an elective hospital in Cork, for example. The population in Cork city and county has increased by 130,000 over the past 30 years but no new beds have been opened in any of the area's hospitals over that period. It is my understanding that a committee was to be established to help to identify a site for a new hospital. That committee has still not met and I am concerned that this project is now on the back foot. I ask for a commitment from the Minister that the committee will be set up within the next four weeks and will meet at an early date thereafter. It has not even started identifying a site. This is an important project. It is an elective-only hospital. The other issue that arises is whether there have been discussions with the two voluntary hospitals that provide a crucial service to the city and county of Cork as well as to the wider Munster region.

I am concerned that while there is a focus on the Dublin area now in relation to hospitals - the focus on a new maternity hospital in Dublin, the children's hospital and the work going on in Dún Laoghaire - we have not even had a meeting of the committee to help identify a site, let alone go through the planning process. I wonder if we can get a commitment on that issue at this stage.