Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The matter of accident and emergency department capacity is now crucial. I was elected by the people of Cork North-Central to fight against and reverse the neglect of the north side of Cork city. For 20 years a new hospital has been planned for Cork and there were meant to be numerous announcements about this. There was supposed to be an announcement last year, either before or after Christmas, and in this time both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been in power. Cork still has not got its new hospital. I am standing here for the people of Cork North-Central and, in particular, those people on the north side. There are 125,000 people living in the area with no hospital or accident and emergency department. It is an absolute disgrace. This hospital is included in the national development plan and it is seen as a requirement by medical experts.

We desperately need a hospital on the north side of Cork city not just for the city but for the north side of the entire county. Currently there are areas like Curraheen and Bishopstown with significant congestion and development issues but on the north side there is a lack of facilities. There are a number of sites that have been suggested by me and my colleagues. Unfortunately, Fianna Fáil closed the Cork North Infirmary hospital and Fine Gael closed the orthopaedic hospital. We have the orthopaedic hospital site and the site of the Our Lady's Hospital, which is owned by the HSE. We have the Sarsfield Court site in Glanmire, which is 100 acres of strategically located land.

Will the Minister give me a commitment to me and the people of Cork that he will carry out a feasibility study to locate the new hospital for Cork on one of those sites or a site on the north side that could be ideal for people? We desperately need a hospital and an accident and emergency department on the north side of Cork city.

I will raise a second matter, which is home help services. I was contacted by a constituent who has sought an increase in home help hours since 2011. The request has not been granted. That person is paying for additional assistance because it is needed. This person is not in a financial position to do that any more. The HSE now has a roadmap for the reintroduction of home help services so will the Minister give me and the country a commitment that he will review the recruitment policy and hire additional home help staff so we can run a proper service?

We are talking about bed capacity in hospitals but we know if we had proper wrap-around services and home help, people could go home from hospital sooner and release hospital beds. We also have other people who are at home now but do not have enough support. They will only end up in hospital because there is nowhere else for them to go. It makes sense to invest money in home help carers. I will allow my colleague in but I look forward to the Minister's response.

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