Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

I am taking the Adjournment on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Mary Harney, Minister for Health and Children. I thank Deputies Stagg and Wall for raising the issue.

Over recent years, considerable funding has been made available for the completion of capital projects at Naas General Hospital. In 2003, a major €75 million capital project was completed at the hospital which included four 31-bed wards; six-bed coronary care unit; four-bed intensive care unit; three operating theatres; accident and emergency and out-patient departments; radiology department; pathology department; pharmacy department; and a department of medicine for older people which included a day hospital and rehabilitation-assessment ward.

In 2007, capital funding under the accident and emergency special initiative provided a seven-place medical assessment unit and a ten-bed transit unit. A central sterile stores department is also being provided at a cost of €3.8 million.

In drawing up its capital plan, the Health Service Executive is required to prioritise the projects to be progressed within its overall capital funding allocation. The HSE has been finalising its capital plan over recent weeks on this basis. A revised draft of the plan has now been completed and has just been made available to the Department for approval in the normal way.

The draft capital plan reflects the HSE's commitments and priorities. The HSE is currently reviewing a number of options to enable it to progress further capital projects over the coming years and proposals in this regard are awaited by the Department. The capital plan will be published as a whole upon approval. It is not productive to release information about the status of individual projects in advance of that.

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