Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The board is a representative of the State here. The board is taking action on behalf of the Government. The Deputy knows well that that is the case. She is making a claim regarding the Government not being involved in this despite the fact that the board of the hospital is acting on behalf of the Government.

As regards the charges the Deputy made regarding the performance of our health services at the moment, what she neglected to say in the charges she made against the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and the Government is that 2023 was the second year in a row in which waiting lists fell for key procedures in our hospitals, we have seen a reduction of almost one third in the waiting times for really important procedures and we see a reduction in outpatient waiting lists, despite the big increase we see in the demand for healthcare in the aftermath of the pandemic.

That is our record on healthcare. The Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, has been instrumental in the delivery of those improvements, just as he has been in the agreement we have reached regarding the better funding of healthcare services in Ireland for this year and next year.

In each of the answers I have given to the Dáil this afternoon on this topic, I have acknowledged what should have gone better in relation to this hospital, my role in it and what we have done to try to fix it for the future and ensure learnings are learnt in this regard. I have also emphasised the steps the Government is taking to minimise cost at this stage and to get the hospital open as soon as possible.

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