Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This week there was announcement in Cork by a company that it intends to carry out a €350 million development in the docklands area. Part of that development comprises a 130-bed rehabilitation hospital. We have been looking for an elective hospital in Cork for a number of years and we still have not identified a site for that hospital. This year, we have 200 fewer beds available in the Cork and Kerry region for hospital care as a result of the number of beds being reduced due to Covid-19. Is the Government and the Health Service Executive prepared to enter into negotiations with the private developer about identifying a site for this elective hospital? Will it design, build and finance it, with the State buying it back over 25 years? I am asking that this would be given priority.

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