Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that. It is a matter that quite a number of Deputies have raised. I understood that it was almost at the point where it was to be done a year ago. Here we are now, having done all of this and given out public money, and those hospitals are not under the remit of HIQA. I found myself in the unusual position of supporting the private consultants' misgivings about this deal, the way they were treated and the fact that they could not see their patients. I fully understood those points and supported the consultants.

I am now very concerned that the Government is going forward with a spin, with the active help of Fianna Fáil. The speech made earlier by Deputy Donnelly worried me as to the direction we are going with public money. We are going to build up the National Treatment Purchase Fund and use more and more private hospitals.

The Minister may recall the 2016 election when various leaders went to Galway and said the accident and emergency department at University Hospital Galway was not fit for purpose. The future Taoiseach, as he then was, Deputy Varadkar and the Taoiseach at the time, Enda Kenny, told us it was not fit for purpose. It is still not fit for purpose and no progress has been made. Is the Minister in a position to tell me what is the status of the project relating to the accident and emergency department at University Hospital Galway? Has planning permission been granted? Is a new department going to be built?

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