David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have raised this issue in the Dáil in the past couple of weeks. I am referring to the south-east palliative care centre, which is part of the Dunmore wing of University Hospital Waterford. The top three floors will house 72 acute beds run by hospital management, with the bottom two floors being a new, state-of-the-art palliative care facility. Local Oireachtas Members, including some of the Minister's colleagues and the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, got a tour of the facility last week. Palliative care will be run by the CHO but the problem is that only €300,000 has been allocated as a start for staffing and revenue funding. People in the south east are scandalised by the fact that the building is built, fully equipped and ready to be opened but has not yet received the revenue funding. We have met with officials who have told us that even when they get the funding they will have to recruit staff and we could be talking about a year or more before the unit becomes operational. How much will it cost to fully staff the palliative care unit? Why was the funding not given much earlier, given that we knew this was going to be completed and fully equipped in the summer of this year? It could be lying idle for months or a year but patients in the south east deserve the same palliative care options as people in other parts of the country.

In responses to parliamentary questions, the Minister said there would be an allocation arising from the overall funding for palliative care in the Estimates. Will the full allocation, of €4.5 million or €4.6 million for next year and €5 million for subsequent years, be given in the Estimates so that the unit can be fully opened?