David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There also has to be an examination of where the money goes. I always look at things logically. There will be different situations in different hospitals. They will all have different needs, different geography, different capacity and different levels of expertise in different specialties. They all have their unique characteristics. One thing that we can logically do regarding waiting times, in Waterford and other hospitals, is to look at where the pressure points have been over a number of years. It will then be possible to identify where the problems lie. Solutions then have to be found and, in some of these cases, there are.

That brings me to the capital plan. I think Mr. Reid had discussions on this earlier with Deputy Jonathan O'Brien. A number of business cases have been made by the hospitals groups to go the hospital management to solve some of the problems. I am trying to explore how that process works from conception to completion when a business case is made. I have had some discussions with Mr. Breslin and Mr. Reid's predecessor in the past on, for example, a second cath lab in Waterford and a new mortuary. The mortuary was in the capital schedule since 2013. The money was only freed up and made available this year.

Sometimes the hospitals and the hospital groups do their jobs, identify the business cases and go to the HSE. Then we have to wait for years. In the meantime, the waiting times go up. I talked about ophthalmology. There is also a business case for a new eye clinic in University Hospital Waterford. I also spoke about orthopaedics and there is a business case for a new centre of excellence for orthopaedics which will involve moving some of the services from Kilcreene Orthopaedic Hospital in Kilkenny into University Hospital Waterford. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien talked about cancer care earlier. Six of the eight hospitals have robotic technologies that can be more precise in surgeries and as a result deliver better outcomes while cutting waiting times. University Hospital Waterford is not one of those hospitals. It is a cancer centre but it does not have that robotic technology. The consultants there have sought it and they have developed business cases.

My question concerns how this process works. That is the frustrating part for us as public representatives and that is where we come under pressure. I refer to situations where business cases are developed to address obvious needs but they go through a long complicated process that sometimes takes years before change is delivered. The mortuary in Waterford is a case in point. Will Mr. Reid talk me through how that process regarding capital funding works from conception to delivery?