Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It was announced this morning that there would be a new €20 million development in Cork which will provide 150 jobs and when completed, will accommodate 500 people. It is good news in terms of the number of new developments in that region. However, we now need to set out a clear strategy nationally in respect of development and areas we need to prioritise regarding the provision of services. I raised this issue yesterday in respect of the need for long-term planning in our health service. I know there is an Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare from which Senators are excluded but I have very strong views about forward planning. The Minister for Health was here yesterday. The last major public hospital built in this country was built in 1998. The population of the Cork region, about which I spoke yesterday, has gone from 410,000 to 542,000. No new hospital has been provided during that period of population increase. The population will continue to increase at a very fast rate over the new few years. In setting out the strategy for the development of this country over the next ten, 15 or 20 years, we need to prioritise the provision of health care services. We have 2.8 beds per thousand in this country. The figure in Germany is 8.3 beds per thousand while in the OECD, it is 4.3 or 4.5 beds per thousand. Even if we were to get the figure up to three beds per thousand, we would have to create an extra 1,500 beds overnight. It needs to be given priority because it is something we can no longer avoid talking about. We need to set out a clear plan and timescale for when this is to be implemented. This is a key strategy we need to develop instead of putting it on the back burner as was the case over the past 20 years.