Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I think everyone knows that National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire is meant to be the national centre of excellence for rehabilitation. A Senator from across the floor spoke about it last week and I have raised it on numerous occasions since I entered the Seanad. One concern is that the new hospital that has been planned for years is simply not happening. There are issues relating to the land itself, funding, planning, procurement and tendering. I know these processes are slow but there are problems. The hospital authorities have confirmed that they have cut 12 beds since Christmas. I received a statement from and have had communication with them and I told them that I would raise the issue here today. The HSE says it cannot fund 12 beds. It has been unable to fund 12 beds since Christmas but it is meant to be building a hospital with 120 beds next year or the year after. There is a crisis at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in respect of its future development, its development plan and its resourcing. At a time when we are making improvements in health, the hospital authorities are actively and openly engaging with and asking people to lobby the Minister for Health to intervene and get the HSE to cough up funding to reinstate 12 beds. We are only talking about 12 beds. Over 800 people are waiting to access national rehabilitation services and many of them are lying in acute beds in hospitals around this country at a time when we have a crisis in our general hospitals. I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister to come to the House with a detailed plan. What is actually happening in the National Rehabilitation Hospital complex? What will happen in the short term? If possible, we want to hear about the 12 beds in the next week.