Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge the ongoing work he did before he was a Member of the Oireachtas and continues to do now. The Deputy and I both know that his question is not within the remit of the country's response to Covid-19. Nonetheless, I know it is something that is very important to him, the other Deputies in the Waterford area and, most important, the people of Waterford and the region. The programme for Government gives specific commitments on this matter. Deputies Shanahan, Butler and Cullinane and the other Deputies and public representatives in Waterford deserve great credit because they have fought a hard fight for that. As Deputy Shanahan and I both know, there has been significant pushback. The second cath lab being put in place is a massive win. The time it takes to do this is based on the appropriate guidelines. I am happy to ask for a report and see if the project can be accelerated because I am all too familiar with how important having the facility up and running is to the people the Deputy represents.