Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would hope we would have an agreement in place in a matter of weeks. Then the lawyers have to turn that into the final contracts. I caveat that by saying the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, made similar statements when he held this portfolio and I have no doubt he fully believed them. This has been a long and complex process but I very much hope we are close to completion of this deal because, ultimately, we must start getting this hospital built.