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

There has been considerable investment in University Hospital Waterford under this Government. Just since 2019, there has been a 40% increase in staffing at the hospital. The hospital's budget is now approximately €270 million. There has been a 33% increase in the budget since 2019. There has been considerable investment in Waterford. That includes the second cath lab, which people in the region campaigned very hard for over a long period. That is open now, and we want to extend the hours to weekends as soon as possible. There is a new outpatient unit. There is also the Dunmore wing, which I have had the pleasure to visit, and the new palliative care unit.

I assure the Deputy that I do not think that investment in University Hospital Waterford has been adequate either. That is why there needs to be more. Among the future investments coming is the new surgical hub, which will help people to get operations they need much more quickly, and the replacement of the adult mental health unit with a 50 single-bed unit, which I think will be a considerable improvement too. Of course, we need to examine future capacity at the hospital. It is a hospital that performs very well and that experiences very little emergency department overcrowding. It really helped out when the fire happened in Wexford hospital. Hospitals that perform well should be rewarded. That is why I want to see more investment happening in Waterford University Hospital in the coming years. The Deputy can be sure that is going to happen.

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