Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. I appreciate that he cannot give me the details, given the role played by his Department. I have in mind the status of the outer bypass in Galway - I have a view on that - and the hospital’s accident and emergency unit.

The Minister has set out the four decision gates. Decision gate 0 requires a strategic assessment report and decision gate 1 requires a preliminary business case. However, I am utterly confused by the answers that I have received from the Saolta University Health Care Group. The Minister might help me. On 13 June, I was told that a preliminary business case report had been completed and submitted to the HSE for approval. Following that, it was to go to the Department of Health and then the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Six months beforehand, though, I was told that a preliminary business case report was required, a draft of it was ready and it had gone to the HSE. As such, six months passed and nothing happened. The preliminary business case is for an accident and emergency unit in Galway, given that the current one is not fit for purpose. Those are not my words, but the then Taoiseach’s. In a letter dated 26 May, however, the Minister for Health wrote that the accident and emergency department project was in the early stages and a strategic assessment report was needed.

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