Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Maybe the Minister could clarify the position. What is the difference? How can we possibly stand over treating public and private patients differently in public hospitals that are fully funded by the taxpayer? What is the logic to it, except for a source of income for a public hospital that is really in trouble? I am very familiar with University Hospital Galway, UHG. I continuously pay tribute to the staff there who work under pressure. The hospital is at a breaking point. I will give the Minister a little flavour of what is happening. If I have the opportunity tomorrow, I might return to this matter. In 2014, the then Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar, the current Taoiseach, stated that a new building was the only solution to the problems at UHG. In 2015, Enda Kenny said that the emergency department in the hospital was not fit for purpose. Eight years have passed and we still do not have a new emergency department in Galway. In 2016, the programme for Government contained a commitment in the context of funding being provided, but this did not happen. The emergency department has progressed a little in the context of what is called a strategic assessment report. That is where we are at, even though it is now 2023. I will return to this matter tomorrow.

I am not sure what happened to the concept of a brand new hospital being constructed on the 150-acre site at Merlin Park. I am not sure how that became an elective hospital, while the congested site continues to be expanded out of all proportion. I will come back to that issue tomorrow as well. The Minister might come back to me about why public and private patients would be treated differently in public hospitals.

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