David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Of course there are plans. That is the problem I have. The frustration is that the Department and HSE have done a lot of work identifying sites and, as the Minister said, looking at where they want the beds to be provided. I assume that will be in areas where there are pressure points. Much of that work has been done. The frustrating part is that these projects can be delivered very quickly. The Minister indicated that work had been done. Expressions of interest have been invited, and it is great there is interest being shown and these projects can happen very quickly, but has the funding been secured? The Minister said he will speak to his colleagues to begin delivering these beds. What does that mean? Will 50, 100 or 200 beds be delivered this year?

Appearing before the Joint Committee on Health, officials promised that 700 of those could be delivered in 2024. I do not see anything like that happening unless significant additional funding is provided. I fear that what will actually happen is that the Department will try to squeeze what it can from the existing capital envelope, which will impact other health projects, rather than doing what should be done, namely, secure the additional capital funding needed to deliver these beds on time, at scale and as quickly as possible.

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