Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for his response. I submitted a parliamentary question recently to the Minister for Health on the elective hospital planned for Merlin Park and he replied that this is a long-term plan and that, with a ten-year plan, many proposals, including an elective-only hospital, are at a very early stage. It could be ten, 15 or 20 years away while the minor injuries unit could be up and running by the end of the year. A small staff, including a consultant and advanced nurse, is all that is needed. It could be put in one of the units. The Taoiseach should not be going back to the proposed ten-year plan for building a hospital in Merlin Park because that is a long time down the road. The emergency department built in Galway was built in the 1950s and upgraded in the 1990s. It caters for six core counties, with a population of 800,000 people. If we could bring the people with scalds, burns, strains, lacerations and broken bones to a minor injuries unit in Merlin Park, it could reduce the number attending UHG accident and emergency department by tens of thousands. It would free up parking and take the pressure off the staff and the accident and emergency department.

I want the Taoiseach to commit that he will move this project forward. It will alleviate much of the pressure on the accident and emergency department in University Hospital Galway.

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