Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. As he rightly said, though I am not sure we will get to the question, he has consistently raised the issue of Belmullet. He and I have discussed there being an active application in for Belmullet as well. I cannot pre-empt the capital appraisal but I would like to see exactly what the Deputy is advocating for, namely, more beds in Ballina, the modular unit moved on very quickly to alleviate pressure in the short term and more beds in Belmullet. I would then very much like to meet the Deputy in Belmullet and Ballina. I would like to go to these places, meet with the clinicians and ensure the required capital investment is put in place because our whole system is moving towards having patients in the model 3 and model 4 hospitals for the shortest time possible before moving them into community facilities like those in Ballina and Belmullet as quickly as possible. That requires ongoing investment.

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