Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are keeping a very open mind to anything local hospitals want to bring forward in terms of proposals, with one important caveat, namely, the capital budget is what it is. The Government has expanded it very significantly in recent years, but in respect of any proposal relating to bed capacity, we would have to ask whether it would have a knock-on effect on any opportunities to increase services, whatever they may be, such as diagnostics, a new outpatient centre or a new ED. We need to keep a very open mind to it. I am conscious that healthcare workers throughout the country really are struggling either to buy a home or to rent. There is a separate conversation, obviously, about the work being done to resolve that, but when it comes to healthcare, we will certainly keep an open mind to any proposals coming from hospitals throughout the country.

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