Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I think I understand fully where the Deputy is coming from. There has been huge pressure on that hospital over recent years. The workforce has increased - I went through that with the Deputy - and the budget went up 20% in one year alone. In 2022, it is €315 million, an increase of 19%. Actually, that is since 2019, so it was not in one year. The new 60-bed module was put in in 2021 and has opened. There were rapid-build projects. There will be further developments. Work has just commenced on a new four-storey, 96-single bed acute inpatient ward block. That has to happen. I know the Deputy is saying that we are pouring water, but Limerick is the key hospital in that region, so we have to work to improve-----

See this speech in context