Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome everybody. I will direct my questions to Mr. Gloster and perhaps he or Mr. Watt will identify who is best placed to respond.

I want to follow on from Deputy Sherlock's questions about elective hospitals. Deputy Colm Burke and I have tabled so many parliamentary questions on the elective hospital in Glanmire that I have lost count.

Initially, we were looking at the prospect of lodging planning permission for 2026, with patients first to be seen by possibly 2027. I know that was always aspirational and it was the hope. The latest tune in the replies to parliamentary questions suggests there has been a bit of a delay to that and we will not be in that optimistic phase. I ask Mr. Gloster to clarify the status of the elective hospital in Glanmire and perhaps the rest of the ones around the country. If those delays are real, what is the cause of those delays and when are the first patients likely to be seen?