Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

There was a great deal of interest in the initiative from public hospitals and the private sector. When the co-located hospital has been built and opened, every public bed in the public hospital will be accessed on the basis of medical need and no other. There will be no preferential treatment in the public hospital system for insured patients or self-payers.

As part of its contract with the HSE, the co-located hospital must provide 24-hour admission, train doctors and share its profits. Public hospitals will also benefit in the case of debt refinancing. Details in respect of each site will be made public, but it is not possible to release details of bids during a procurement process or to provide commercially sensitive information.

Last night, a figure of €700 million was quoted as the loss of income to hospitals, but the six hospitals in the first tranche of co-location collected €80 million from private health insurers in 2006, less than half the cost of running the beds. No land is being given away. The land on which the co-located hospitals will be built will be leased at above the market value.

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