Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of the increase in overcrowding in our emergency departments in recent weeks. We are concerned going into winter, with Covid cases rising again and the risk of a flu season, that our hospitals could be extremely busy. With that in mind, the Minister for Health and the HSE have developed a winter plan and there will be bespoke plans for particular hospitals and regions. That is due to be discussed next week, I believe. I will make a point of raising Castlebar and Mayo University Hospital with the Minister as part of that meeting, and if we can speed up that project, we should do so. I share the Deputy's frustration about how long it takes to get some projects done. I will not even mention the University Hospital Galway emergency, paediatric and maternity facility, which is going on for far too long. On the other hand, other projects have been completed much more quickly, including those in Clonmel, Waterford and Drogheda, so it must be possible to do these things more quickly.

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