Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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49. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the procurement of modular patient facilities at South Tipperary General Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27646/17]

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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102. To ask the Minister for Health if he will address concerns that South Tipperary General Hospital has been operating on the full capacity protocol for over 17 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27647/17]

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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107. To ask the Minister for Health the position regarding the provision of modular units at South Tipperary General Hospital which were promised to help ease the crisis in the shortage of beds at the hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27846/17]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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120. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to alleviate overcrowding in South Tipperary General Hospital [27539/17]

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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When will we see relief in terms of the provision of patient facilities? We were promised a mini-hotel by one of my colleagues. We were promised additional bed accommodation to try to alleviate the savage crisis that pertains in South Tipperary General Hospital, formerly and affectionately known as St. Joseph's in Clonmel. Will the Minister make a statement on the matter?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 49, 102, 107 and 120 together.

Work is ongoing to address the capacity challenges at South Tipperary General Hospital. While the HSE is exploring what additional supports could be by provided by Our Lady's Hospital, Cashel, it has identified that the most immediate and effective means to alleviate pressure on the emergency department is the fit out of additional space for 11 trolley bays on the first floor of the hospital. Local Deputies may have been briefed on this by hospital management in the last week. This was prioritised for funding which was provided, and completed recently. A recruitment process is under way to provide staff for this new area and it is hoped to have staff in place, recruited in advance of this winter. It is anticipated that this additional capacity will open in September 2017.

Another option under consideration is to provide additional surge capacity through a temporary inpatient solution, in line with the National Framework for Alternative Accommodation at Hospital Sites. I understand that the HSE plans to address this issue in the context of the Estimates 2018 submission.

I should also mention that in recognition of the significant increase in bed utilisation in recent times, a capacity review of the South Tipperary General Hospital by the South-South West Hospital Group is nearing completion. This review will inform the precise level and nature of any additional capacity required to meet current and future needs. The Department's national capacity review will also help identify service requirements and inform resourcing priorities.

I note that a brief for the procurement of a master plan to provide for the orderly development of the South Tipperary General Hospital campus is currently being finalised.

This review will inform the precise level and nature of any additional capacity required to meet the needs of the people of Tipperary. The Department's national capacity review will also help to identify service requirements.

Finally, I wish to inform the Deputy that a brief for the procurement of a master plan for South Tipperary General Hospital to provide for the development of the hospital campus is being finalised. This will enable us to consider further developments in respect of the capital plan. I think it is fair to say this hospital over many years was overlooked for significant capital investment. The completion of this master plan, which has proceeded to procurement, along with the 11 bays, will enable us to try to include measures in the forthcoming Government's capital plan.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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I am very disappointed because we have had promises about this. The extra capacity was expected to be available from early May and could be used to accommodate a space for up to 11 trolley bays. It should be remembered that these would only be on corridors. It is almost certain the modular patient hotel for South Tipperary General Hospital will not be delivered for at least another year. The Minister talked about many tendering processes and everything else. If we get the modular hotel, as promised in a blaze of glory to my colleague, Deputy Lowry, a year ago this month, it is estimated that the 40-bed unit will cost €60,000 per week to operate. I note that the Minister in his reply tells me that the corridor issue is nearly solved, there is space there for 11 trolleys - not beds - and he now has recruitment ongoing for staff. Why can he not do the two in tandem? I understand from my colleague who visited last week that the place is ready now, and now the Minister is looking for the staff and hopes to have the unit ready for September. Why can nothing be done in tandem? The hospital has been operating at emergency status for the past 17 months. It is under enormous pressure. Why can the recruitment not go on in tandem with the construction work and mini tender? Everything is just a matter of fobbing off and going back and forward. We will have another review and another capacity review by the South/South West hospital group and another one at a national level. It is just not good enough; it is not happening. The Minister visited Cashel with me and saw the spaces and the capacity there.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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That is not fair. I do not want to get involved in Tipperary politics. The Deputy's colleague, Deputy Lowry, and indeed all Tipperary Deputies are regularly in contact with me-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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The Minister said he informed-----

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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-----as is Deputy McGrath, on the very important issues regarding both South Tipperary General Hospital and Our Lady's Hospital in Cashel. We are seeing progress on South Tipperary General Hospital. The 11 bays will open. They will provide badly needed additional surge capacity for the winter. We need to have a master plan for the development. Successive Governments have failed to invest in the hospital and, as a result, it does not have enough capacity. The master plan will enable the hospital group to say what it wants to do in Clonmel and ask the Government to include that in its capital plan. That is the way the process works, it is the appropriate way and I hope the hospital group does that because I would like to see this included in the capital plan.

The Deputy brought me to Our Lady's Hospital in Cashel, I was there with him and I think there is a possibility of alleviating pressure there. I am about to run out of time, but I have already asked the HSE to develop a proposal in this regard and it has developed a proposal which is particularly focused on the development of the Cashel health campus to deliver integrated care, particularly for older people. I think it could do an awful lot for older people in this regard. This will involve additional resource requirements, including specialist staffing, and I therefore expect this to be considered in the context of the budget.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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The Minister replied quite recently to a question I tabled to tell me a decision will only be taken based on the outcome of the mini tender. Is the mini tender finished or has it become a major tender? How could any mini tender take so long? The HSE uses a particular vocabulary. The Taoiseach has talked about his new scriptwriter or historian or whatever. The Department of Health could get rid of half the speechwriters and scriptwriters it has for using multisyllabic words in the HSE to confuse people. The Minister saw Cashel. The HSE has no intention of placing patients in Cashel. It is a patient-free area, full stop. It is only being used for staff, as I said to the Minister before. It is an emporial fiefdom for the people in there. They do not want any patients in there. The Minister was there and I know he was shocked to see the condition and the splendour of the unit, the chronic pressure on South Tipperary General Hospital down the road in Clonmel, which he visited afterwards, and the palatial rooms, offices and suites of furniture in Cashel, and to hell with the patient. It is sickening, it is a disgrace, and he is not doing anything about it. I am glad he is back in his job. I will be holding him to account. He can tell Deputy Lowry whatever dúirt bean liom go ndúirt bean léi stories he likes but he will not tell them to me. I will not take them at face value and go announcing a patient hotel that was supposed to be in place last October. We have not even got the bed linen, not to mind the hotel. We have not got the pillowcases and there are no staff to dress the beds anyway.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I do not think I could confuse Deputy McGrath if I tried because he is very clear in his thinking on this and never afraid to articulate that. He is right that when I visited Cashel, I was taken aback by the underutilisation of what is a fine resource within the ownership of the HSE. However, before I became Minister for Health, there was diddly-squat planned to do anything with it.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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I accept that.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As a result of my visit to Cashel with the Deputy and his Oireachtas colleagues representing Tipperary across the political spectrum, I directed the HSE to put in place a plan to utilise Cashel so that it can help alleviate pressure in Clonmel - in addition to the 11 bays in Clonmel, the consideration of the modular accommodation and the master plan - so we can have a real capital development. As a result, the proposal that the HSE has come up with for Cashel now predominantly focuses on older people and on the idea of developing the Cashel health campus to provide services for the local population. These services can be developed in the existing accommodation at the former Our Lady's Hospital. However, this will involve additional resource requirements including specialist staff. Therefore, I am telling the Deputy today that this will be considered in the context of the budget for 2018 and I will keep in touch with him and other Oireachtas Members from Tipperary about that.