Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this issue. While I could have discussed the matter during the Private Members' debate on health services, it would have been inappropriate to do so as the problem to which I refer has been ongoing for five months and is not solely related to the motion the House debated earlier.

The issue I raise relates to the Mercy University Hospital in Cork, a highly efficient institution with a significant throughput which is located in the city centre. For a number of years, the hospital has experienced a specific problem in the provision of accident and emergency services. As a result of the large number of admissions and problems arising from a lack of physical space, the hospital applied for funding for the development of a new accident and emergency department. Construction works on the new unit commenced in the summer of 2006 and were completed in January this year. While the department is now ready for use, its new equipment lies idle in its original wrapping.

An additional 25 staff are needed to run the state-of-the-art unit which will have a rapid response rehabilitation team, the first of its kind in Cork, and a multidisciplinary staff, including physiotherapists and occupational therapists. It now lies idle with its doors closed not only because of the current recruitment freeze, but because the Health Service Executive has refused to allocate funds to cover staffing costs.

Is it acceptable to approve substantial capital investment for a brand new, state-of-the-art facility attached to a busy hospital and then, on completion, announce that a staffing budget will not be made available? It is an appalling lack of foresight to proceed with a project of this nature and then refuse to staff it. Consultants, management and nursing staff are extremely frustrated at this development. The staff of Cork University Hospital are also frustrated because the new unit was built with a view to improving facilities at the Mercy University Hospital and easing pressure on Cork University Hospital. Its accident and emergency department is too small to meet current demand and has patients lying on trolleys at busy times. The lack of planning, foresight and budgetary discipline shown by the HSE means a brand new facility elsewhere in Cork cannot be opened.

It is not acceptable for the Government, which has ultimate responsibility for health care, to allow the HSE decide not to open a fantastic new facility and thereby create a white elephant. The unit, which was supposed to open in September to cater for 30,000 accident and emergency patients per annum, lies idle.

If, as I expect, I receive a standard ministerial reply, I ask the Minister of State to at least convey to the Minister for Health and Children the frustration felt by management, consultants and staff at the Mercy University Hospital Cork who worked so hard to have this capital project completed.

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