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

I can give a commitment that the Government will examine that. A lot of progress, as the Deputy said, has been made in Waterford in recent years, particularly with the major improvement in trolley waits. It is now one of the best performing hospitals, in part because of the good clinical leadership and management there, but also the additional resources in the Dunmore wing. With a rising and ageing population, if we do not continue to expand the hospital, we will fall backwards again. We will examine what can be done to extend bed capacity. I am pleased to hear the second cath lab is nearing completion. It has been a long saga. I am determined to work with the Deputy, the Minister for Health and everyone involved to make sure it is commissioned and operating if not in the early part, certainly in the first half of next year.

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