Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a very Dublin-centric question because the Deputy keeps on leaving out poor old Limerick. I am sure Deputy O'Dea would not be happy with that. We do intend to co-locate the four maternity hospitals, including the one in Limerick.

To answer the Deputy's question bluntly, Holles Street is the first in the queue. That is our intention. I hope, subject to the criteria I have set out being met by all involved, that construction can begin on it towards the end of 2020.

With regard to the Coombe, we need to go to tender. If I start giving out dates on the floor of the Dáil on the tender process and the construction project, the Deputy will come back to me in ten years saying I said this or that. We need to allow the tender process to proceed. That is fair. The Coombe will go to construction, but when the children's hospital is finished. What we will do in the meantime is proceed with all the planning and development that needs to be done in this regard.

With regard to the Rotunda, my priority, while I am committed to the bigger move, is to see how we can help the master with the interim works that need to be carried out. I wish to see funding provided for this. I need to meet Professor Malone and representatives of the HSE on this in the coming weeks. I have asked them to present their agreed plan formally to my Department and I will endeavour to respond positively.

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