Dáil debates

Thursday, 24 November 2022

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Hospital Facilities

5:25 pm

Photo of Pádraig O'SullivanPádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge that we had a bit of news on this issue earlier in the week, in an article featured in the Irish Examiner, courtesy of Danny McConnell, who is sitting above us. The early indications coming out of the announcement seem to suggest the confirmation we have all been looking for in Cork North-Central. Deputy Barry opposite and all the Deputies in Cork North-Central - well, many of us - have been fighting the corner for this hospital to be located in Glanmire, and it now appears that will be the case.

We have all had the debate on the preferred site, as I said, over the past 12 months, if not longer. An existing mental hospital in Sarsfield Court is being used currently. There are more than 100 acres, which will allow for future expansion. There are many positive attributes to the site, with it being so close to the motorway, which, in the future, if it is developed, will lead to greater accessibility for patients and users. We have sung the praises of the Sarsfield Court site for many months now, and it seems we are coming to a close on this issue. I believe that it will be finalised before Cabinet next Tuesday or Wednesday. All that is looking positive. The new hospital will include nine operating theatres, seven endoscopy suites and six outpatient diagnostic suites and, when operational, will have a staff complement of approximately 300. All that is being delivered by the Government as we build towards a future Sláintecare model.

I will quote the phrase the Taoiseach used the other day in the Dáil, which featured in the same article in the Irish Examiner. He said we need to take this issue "by the scruff of the neck".

On many occasions, when it comes to large items of infrastructure and the national development plan, the Taoiseach has told the House that it is all about delivery. What we need to see is no more speculation about this. We need to see a decision. We need to see it progress through tender and planning and see it delivered as quickly as possible. There is speculation that the hospital will be delivered as early as 2027 or 2028. When we are speculating we should remember that the best way that the Government can facilitate that kind of timeline is in the upcoming review of the Planning Act which is being led by the Taoiseach's office and the Attorney General. In that legislation, we need to see the provision for large-scale strategic infrastructure like this so that it can be treated expeditiously and in a streamlined manner so we can get on with taking it by the scruff of the neck, as the Taoiseach said, and with delivering it. There are a number of capital projects in the Glanmire area. The flood relief scheme has been well spoken about in here in recent months. That has been slowed down because of difficulties in planning initially that went on for an awfully long time. Most recently, the cost of building materials and inflationary pressures has set back the project by some months. Happily, it is back on track for maybe March-April next year.

If the Government is serious about these hospitals, not just in Cork but also in Limerick and Galway, then we need to see delivery not only on the ground but in the legislation that is meant to come before us in the next couple of weeks to reform the Planning Act which will facilitate those large infrastructural projects.

5:35 pm

Photo of Frank FeighanFrank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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The cross-party Sláintecare report of 2017 articulated a new vision for healthcare, including the provision of elective-only hospitals, providing protected capacity for elective care. This policy has also been informed by a number of subsequent policy documents and Government decisions including the 2017 Sláintecare report, the Sláintecare implementation strategy 2018, the national development plan 2018, the programme for Government 2020, the Sláintecare implementation strategy and action plan 2021-2023 and finally the new national elective ambulatory care strategy which was agreed by Government in December 2021.

This new strategy aims to change the way in which day cases, scheduled procedures, surgeries, scans and outpatient services can be better arranged to ensure greater capacity in the future and help to reduce waiting times at a national level. The development of additional capacity will be provided through dedicated, stand-alone elective hospitals in Cork, Galway and Dublin.

The elective care scope of service will be developed in two phases commencing with day cases, diagnostics and outpatients and then by inpatient treatment. On this basis, the elective care centres will be designed to provide sufficient capacity to facilitate future phases, including some elective inpatient capacity, thereby providing a sustainable and strategic response to cater for the highly dynamic landscape of healthcare policy and practice.

The locations chosen for the new elective care centres will allow for new facilities of a size and scale to implement a national elective care programme. This means that the new facilities will be designed to maximise their capacity and in doing so will operate to meet the demands of as wide a catchment area as possible, extending beyond existing and future health areas. Locating the new facilities in Cork, Dublin and Galway will enable us to cover more than four fifths of the entire population of the State.

I am conscious of the strong public support for these new facilities and the desire expressed by many, including the Deputy, for them to be developed as quickly as possible. I say to him that it is important we follow due process with regard to developing our plans to ensure value for money from this significant strategic development. This means that we are following the public spending code process. As part of this, detailed programme and project preliminary business cases for Cork and Galway have been developed and undergone both internal and external assurance. These will be coming to the Government very shortly for approval in principle. I would not wish to pre-judge the process, but can assure the Deputy that we will make an announcement on the locations of the emerging preferred sites once that approval is given.

Photo of Pádraig O'SullivanPádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I did not expect the Minister of State to confirm with a big fanfare that the site has been chosen as Glanmire here this evening but it is not a secret anymore. Many of us have been aware that the preferred site was Glanmire up to eight months ago, to be honest. That detail was quite well known although, as I said, I do not expect the Minister of State to confirm it this evening.

I commend the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, for his work on this. I know his Department turned around the business case and the public spending code that the Minister of State mentioned in his response in a matter of weeks. It is just unfortunate that the report spent eight months in the Department of Health sitting on a desk when the Taoiseach said that we need to start delivering major infrastructure like this. That it spent eight months sitting in the Department of Health does not fill me with confidence that we will work on large-scale projects like this as expeditiously as we need to.

As I said, I did not expect the Minister of State to come in here and confirm the site. I am assuming that will be done after the Cabinet meets next week but I will make two brief points. First, the response mentioned that it would be announced very shortly but that it would be approved in principle. Will the Minister of State elaborate on what "in principle means"? Is that subject to any other type of confirmation that we can be made aware of? Second, the report spent eight months in the Department of Health. If that is how we treat these major infrastructure schemes, I do fear for the future. Taking things by the scruff of the neck, to me, means making decisions quickly and cutting out a lot of the red tape which drives many of us here demented. I would appreciate if the Minister of State could expand on what approval in principle means.

Photo of Frank FeighanFrank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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As I said in my opening remarks, I am conscious of Deputy O'Sullivan's desire for the new elective facilities in Cork and in particular that they are delivered as soon as possible. Producing this new delivery capability into the public healthcare system will benefit the good people of Cork and indeed the whole population. I am as keen as the Deputy that they get to work as quickly as possible.

I suppose being approved in principle means the Government has given a commitment. However, I am aware that the Government has a duty to ensure value for money when delivering projects such as this and it is important to follow due process. Preliminary business cases will be coming to the Government for consideration very soon. The Taoiseach suggested yesterday that this could be as early as next week. As soon as the Government approval in principle is given to those, we will be in a position to announce the locations of emerging preferred sites at Cork and Galway. That will then allow us to move on to the next stage of the programme which is the development of detailed project design, project brief and procurement strategy. We are taking all possible steps to move the projects forward as quickly as possible within the current rules. I look forward to being able to make a further announcement soon and I appreciate the Deputy's support in this matter.

I do not have the exact location but if my esteemed colleague Dan McConnell says that it is in Glanmire then I suspect it is. But that has not been officially revealed yet.