Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question and join him in acknowledging the work that Tipperary University Hospital does. The hospital has gone from strength to strength in serving the needs of the population.

There has been, as he will be aware, a very big increase in the amount going into the hospital from the Government, and rightly so. In fact, the budget has gone up nearly 30% since 2019. That has helped the hospital to hire an additional 270 healthcare professionals, who are making a big difference in the care being delivered. I am delighted that the additional capital investment in the hospital will provide an extra 33 inpatient beds in the newly developed unit. This new unit is planned to reduce the number of patients who end up on trolleys in the emergency department. That will also help the hospital to reconfigure beds internally and give the older people of Tipperary, who make up nearly half of all inpatients there, greater access to inpatient services at the hospital. I imagine the Deputy will join me in welcoming that development at the hospital. It will make a big difference.

Additional funding specific to the hospital will be determined through the ongoing process. I will shortly issue a letter of determination to the HSE. It will then develop a detailed national service plan for consideration. That will be where we will see its proposals on a hospital-by-hospital basis in terms of the level activity and, therefore, requisite funding to be allocated.

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