Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the issue of the closure of two theatres in Merlin Park University Hospital in the context of the commitment in the programme for Government to reducing waiting lists. On 3 March, the two theatres will have been closed for six months. We are in the second decade of the 21st century and two operating theatres in Merlin Park University Hospital have remained closed due to a leak in the roof. The issue has been raised many times in the Dáil by me and other colleagues. We were told that once the leak was repaired the operating theatres would be opened. Since then we have been told they cannot be opened because the clinical assessment now is that their design is not suitable, begging the question as to why the design was not dealt with beforehand.

My specific question is whether the Taoiseach can stand over a situation whereby, six months later, the two main orthopaedic theatres in Merlin Park University Hospital remain closed. We are still looking at a tender process for modular theatres. Tied in with that, the Taoiseach made an announcement on Friday about an elective hospital. Is that elective hospital based on the options appraisal that is still under way and will not report until May, or has it been picked out of the sky?

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