Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response. I am glad she acknowledged that waiting lists in Galway are higher than anywhere else. The short-term needs must be addressed and I hope the NTPF can examine prioritising Galway. The elephant in the room, however, is the need for a new hospital, along with the necessary resources, in Galway to deal with the needs of the area. Previously, I have called on the Minister to put together a working group to look at building a new hospital in Galway on a greenfield site with the requisite staffing and resources. Dr. Pat Nash, the clinical director of the Saolta hospital group, has called for that. Anyone in Galway and across the region can see that it is imperative if the hospital group is to continue servicing the region. Will the Minister of State ask the Minister for Health to consider setting up a working group immediately to look at the need for a new hospital in Galway on a greenfield site?