Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, thank our guests for the update. I realise that there were IT issues but the update was comprehensive. We appreciate that.

I have two questions. The first is on the mid-west region, where I am from. As our guests will know, there has been an ongoing difficulty with the accident and emergency unit at University Hospital Limerick. A 60-bed modular unit was built there in the past 12 months or so. It has helped somewhat. A new 90-bed accident and emergency facility has been committed to for Limerick. Could we have an update on this project? When can the people of Clare, Limerick and the rest of the mid-west region expect the facility to be up and running to deal once and for all with waiting lists at the accident and emergency unit at Limerick hospital?

My second question is on waiting lists and prevention.

I would like to focus on the issue of sight loss in this regard. The statistics tell us that for 80% of people who lose their sight in this country, it can be prevented. For four out of every five people who go blind or suffer serious vision impairment in this country, it can be prevented with early intervention. Has Sláintecare done any work on ensuring that there is early diagnosis and early intervention? I refer to both education and early intervention because it is known that people do not get their sight checked often enough and sometimes, conditions like diabetic retinopathy and so on are diagnosed when it is too late and interventions will have only a limited, if any, effect.