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

I agree we need long-term planning. One of the things about long-term planning is making sure we do not identify a small site and then say we do not have adequate space in five or ten years’ time. It is important we identify a site and get on with the planning process. The planning process is going to take us a minimum of 18 months. This is now a priority. There is not sufficient capacity. Even if we take into account a scenario where the HSE were to take over all the private hospitals in Cork in the morning, it would not have sufficient capacity. A huge amount of work now is going out of Cork to Dublin because there is not capacity in Cork. This should now be given priority and a decision taken at the earliest possible date.

The Minister admitted he has the report back in. I ask that his Department now gives priority to assessing that report but also that he gets his colleague in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform also to make it a priority in that Department to deal with the issues regarding the public cost of this facility. It is a priority and needs a fast decision in order that we can get on with the job of building an elective hospital in Cork.

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