Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise this important matter of concern for the people of Limerick city and county and the wider mid-west region. The issue is the building of a unit with 60 modular beds on the grounds of University Hospital Limerick and I wish to ascertain the measures being put in place to fast-track the planning and procurement stages of the project.

The background is that in 2009, the accident and emergency units in Ennis, Nenagh and St. John's hospitals were closed prior to the building of a new emergency department in University Hospital Limerick, which is now thankfully up and running. However, the closure of the three accident and emergency units was predicated on the provision of 136 co-location beds on the grounds of University Hospital Limerick. That never came to pass. We have been playing catch-up in the near-decade since 2009.

I thank the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, for ensuring that 96 acute beds are provided for in the capital plan for University Hospital Limerick. It will require time to build such facilities but in the interim, beds are needed urgently. Bed capacity is a greater issue in the mid-west and in Limerick than in any other region in the country.

I have worked with the management of University Hospital Limerick, the Minister and the HSE to get an application submitted for 60 modular beds in the grounds of University Hospital Limerick. That has gone to the HSE. My understanding is that the application is now with the Department of Health. The critical issue is that there is a precise site on the grounds of University Hospital Limerick to locate the building. It is a medium-term temporary measure to enable beds to be provided on the ground in an area that is distant from any amenities.

Will the Minister of State outline the measures that have been put in place to ensure we can build a ward to house these 60 modular beds and have them in operation as quickly as possible? Such a project will have to go through the following phases, approval, planning, procurement and construction. I note many elements of the project will be completed off site and then it will be assembled on site and made operational. The unit will then have to be staffed. I want to fast-track the initial process of planning and procurement. As it can be built off-site, we should aim that it be in place as quickly as possible.

People will know from media reports that bed capacity is a problem in the mid-west. I believe that one must face up to the facts of the case. We will get the 96 acute beds, but it will take a period before they are operational and will be located adjacent to the new emergency department, which is up and running. We need to put in place the ward for the 60 temporary modular beds on the grounds of University Hospital Limerick as quickly as possible.

That will require that we fast-track the areas of planning and procurement. Has the Minister plans in place to ensure that we can fast-track the building of this 60-bed ward on the grounds of University Hospital Limerick to ensure we can provide the beds the people of Limerick and the mid-west deserve?