Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I fully agree. I will add two points to that.

The other thing we secured agreement on yesterday was five new surgical hubs. These are based on the Reeves day surgery centre in Tallaght hospital, which has been successful. It consists of four operating theatres for day cases only. It has not been fully open for two years, yet Tallaght hospital has seen a 58% reduction in its day case list over that period. Believe it or not, the number of patients waiting more than three months for day case surgery in Tallaght has fallen over 90% since the Reeves day surgery centre was opened. Cork will get one of these centres, as will Galway, Waterford and Limerick, and there will be a second one in Dublin. Critically, based on how long it took Tallaght, we believe we can have patients in these centres within 18 months, which will help.

A lot of extra investment is required in healthcare in Cork. A really nice investment in the Mercy hospital is coming on line, while Cork University Hospital has five large and important capital investment projects that we are looking to prioritise.

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