Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This is my first time to address the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, since his elevation. I compliment him on being a champion for the disabled in the work he has done since reaching the office of Minister of State at the Department of Health. However, we are here to talk about St. Stephen's Hospital, Sarsfield Court, Glanmire, County Cork. As the Minister of State is aware, I do not normally take on local issues. I take on national issues, but this issues has ramifications nationally for the Department.

The hospital caters for a small number of mental health patients in the main building, while a separate single storey building includes a child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, unit for children with learning difficulties. Another adjacent building caters for teenagers in care. The Child and Family Agency, Tusla, has offices there and there is also an Alzheimer's unit on the site.

I do not know whether the Minister of State has ever had an opportunity to visit St. Stephen's Hospital, but it is situated on a magnificent 117 acre site which offers ultimate potential for the development of an acute hospital. Its location could not be better. The hospital is located less than a mile from the M8 motorway and only ten miles from Cork city and there is no traffic congestion in the area. There is excellent public transport and ample space for parking. If developed, it would serve a huge catchment area, including not just Glanmire but also Watergrasshill, Mayfield and Ballyvolane, as well as the rapidly expanding towns of Cobh, Carrigtwohill and the wider east Cork area.

St. Stephen's Hospital is in the constituency of Cork North Central which has suffered greatly. There has been little investment in the area. As we know, the shortage of acute beds in public hospitals is the root cause of the overcrowding problem in emergency departments. The current accident and emergency crisis, which is now an all-year-round problem, has occurred precisely because of the acute bed shortage, and Cork is no exception.

Earlier this year, the Health Service Executive, HSE, report on acute hospital services for Cork and Kerry found that Cork needs a new hospital within the next ten to 15 years to cope with the population growth. The proposed development by University College Cork of a science park at Curraheen, with an acute hospital facility, has been put forward as an option on official planning documents by Cork County Council. While the development of a science park has great merits, there is no guarantee if and when a hospital could be developed on a greenfield site.

Councillor Ger Keohane from Glanmire is a strong advocate of the St. Stephen's option and has asked me to invite the Minister of State to visit St. Stephen's, with his officials, to explore the possibility of redevelopment. I agree with Councillor Keohane that the redevelopment of St. Stephen's would be an infinitely more cost-effective, efficient and timely option. The hospital site could have an accident and emergency department, a minor surgery department, a primary care centre, an X-ray department, an ambulance depot, a 24-7 suicide prevention unit, a psychiatric wing and many other facilities. Given the space available and the fact that there are ten derelict buildings on the site, the options are endless. It would cost much less to redevelop St. Stephen's as a multi-purpose medical facility than to embark on a greenfield project on the same side of the county where there is already a major hospital. I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to come to the House and giving this matter his consideration.