Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to ask about St. Patrick's Hospital in Cashel, a wonderful institution that has been there for hundreds of years. The community, public representatives and everybody else were promised that a 60-bed community hospital would be built on the site. It is a listed building. There were 350 patients and staff at the hospital, and there was plenty of room to park. Now, the HSE has come up with another dúirt-bean-liom-go-ndúirt-bean-léi story in that there is no longer room for car parking at the hospital. I want a commitment from the Government that the 60-bed unit will go ahead and that Cashel will not lose out again, as it did in the 1980s under a Fine Gael-led Government. It is vital that this 60-bed community unit is built. There should be no subterfuge or hiding. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has made certain noises lately. There is major concern and angst in County Tipperary about this matter. It must be sorted out and the commitments that were made must be honoured. Promises were made, and they must be honoured. We are all expecting the project to proceed. The staff, the public and all of those involved - above all, patients and their families - deserve it.

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