Mr. Robert Watt:

On the elective hospital, the preliminary business case has been shared with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and is now being finalised. The final business case will go through the assurance process. It is expected that it will be cleared with Government before the summer recess. Significant work has already been done with regard to design. The project will go for procurement in the autumn.

The project has not been considered for a public-private partnership. I understand that it is to be a fully Exchequer-funded project. In my experience, there is no evidence that PPPs enable projects to be procured faster than traditional Exchequer funding. In actual fact, it may make matters more complex and further delay the project. It is our view and the current view of the Government, which may, of course, change, that this will be funded purely by upfront funding from the Exchequer.