Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Regarding the elective hospital, how long is this issue going to be kicked around the place? Consider the case of South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital, Cork, for example. The building has been in place for 150 to 200 years. It cannot be modernised unless major work is done. We either go down that road or build a new hospital on a greenfield site. The elective hospital proposed by Sláintecare is a day facility. A facility operating for six days per week for 50 weeks of the year will not be able to deal with a large number of patients because many patients coming in for minor enough procedures will also have underlying conditions. For how long will this debate go on? We are now into year four of talking about elective hospitals but with no clear plan.