Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to address two aspects. The Minister of State will probably be aware that we have had consistently high trolley numbers in Limerick over the recent period. There is an historic issue. There was a consultant's report from Teamwork a number of years ago, which stated that we should get at least 138 additional beds. To date, we have got approximately 98 additional beds, including a 60-bed modular block. These are all single-person bedrooms, which makes them very important in the fight against the Covid virus. They certainly kept the incidence rate in the hospital and, by extension, the rate among people in Limerick, down. What plans have been put in place to reduce the number of people on trolleys, which has been, on average, 54 this month? Planning permission for a 96-bed block has been granted to the HSE. The project is due to go out to tender and a preferred bidder will probably be in place by the end of the year. We must ensure this is approved by the HSE board and included in the Government's capital programme so that we can start to build next year with a view to completion by early 2024. Will the Minister of State give us an update on the status of that 96-bed block so that we can reach that critical number of 136 or more? I believe we need more because of Covid and because of the correct move away from Nightingale wards towards single-bed rooms, such as exist in the 60-bed block. This four-storey block of 96 acute beds is to be built over the existing dialysis unit in the hospital. Will the Minister of State give us an update on that? We want to see not only the 98 beds, including the 60-bed block, but also this 96-bed block being built as quickly as possible.

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