Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)

I sincerely wish the Minister every success. The elective hospital in Cork is supposed to be ready next year. It is now at design stage and will go to planning next year. It is years behind schedule. We were promised an elective hospital 20 years ago. The Minister is new in her role and I cannot land this on her shoulders, but I can land it on the shoulders of the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael members who made promises every election year that the new elective hospital would be delivered in Cork. They went missing when the election was over. I will work with the Minister and do everything I can to ensure the new elective hospital in Cork is delivered. The project needs to be fast-tracked. The waiting lists in Cork are absolutely scandalous. The need for this elective hospital and for elective surgeries is absolutely huge. In Sarsfield Court, we have a perfect site of nearly 100 acres on the northside of the city next to Glanmire. I wish the Minister every success but the project must be fast-tacked.

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