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

If the Deputy looks back over the past ten or 20 years, there has been very considerable public and Government investment in the south east. There is the motorway to Waterford, the New Ross road, the Enniscorthy bypass, the Viking Triangle and the Waterford greenway, also know as the Déise greenway. The long-promised South East Technological University is now a reality. There have been major port investments in Belview and a major one about to happen in Rosslare. Money was offered to the airport in Waterford for its further expansion. The north quays project is a huge investment to transform Waterford city and allow it to grow in a compact and sustainable manner. There is also the Abbey quarter in Kilkenny, and major IDA Ireland investments in Wexford, Waterford and Kilkenny. There has been a great deal of Government investment in the region.

As regards the hospital specifically, under this Government in the past three years, the budget for UHW has increased by 30%, staffing levels by 23% and there has been more than €90 million in capital investment. There is more to come. The Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, met with the leadership team from the hospital last Friday to discuss future investment. Already, as the Deputy mentioned, with the Dunmore wing, there are an additional 60 beds, the second cath lab is due to open in September and there is the palliative care centre. Very much on the agenda now is the new surgical hub. Waiting lists are already falling in Waterford. We think they will fall faster once the surgical hub is up and running. As the Deputy rightly pointed out, notwithstanding the enormous additional pressure because of Wexford hospital being closed temporarily, the emergency department in Waterford is still performing relatively well. There is a lot more investment in the pipeline and I am determined to do anything I can to help push that through.

That will include the laboratory extension, a new outpatient department vertical extension, additional day ward beds at the second cardiac centre laboratory and a new additional mental health unit. In the medium term, there is also a proposed new ward block containing 160 beds.

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