Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Byrne for raising this issue and I commend her on her work to drive the project at St. John's Hospital. I know she has a particular interest in it and that she is very committed to the people of Limerick. It also gives me the opportunity to outline to the House the position on the proposed capital development of a 120-bed ward to replace the existing ward accommodation at St. John's Hospital, Limerick.

St. John's is a model 2S voluntary hospital within the University of Limerick hospitals group covering Limerick, Clare and north Tipperary. The hospital currently has 88 inpatient medical beds and ten beds for day surgery. It also provides a medical assessment unit, a minor injuries unit and five-day surgery to the people of the region. I understand the current proposal is for a 120-bed replacement ward block, consisting of four units of 30 single rooms for inpatient ward accommodation. Progress in respect of these and all other capital projects are subject to the availability of capital funding. All healthcare infrastructure developments, including this development, must comply with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidelines and EU directives and will require a lead-in time to complete the various stages of public capital projects. These stages include appraisal, project brief, design feasibility, detailed design, some of which may overlap, the review of costing estimates and the finalisation of financing.

The national development plan, NDP, announced last year as part of the Project Ireland 2040 policy initiative, provides €10.9 billion for health capital developments across the country, including both national programmes and individual projects, across acute, primary and social care. The delivery of NDP projects and programmes, including developments in Limerick, will result in healthcare facilities that allow for implementation of new models of care and for delivery of services in high-quality modern facilities. The revised health capital allocation in 2019 is €642 million for the construction and equipping of health facilities. The Department and the Health Service Executive are currently engaged in a process to finalise the HSE capital plan for 2019. In developing its capital plan for 2019 and future years, the HSE must consider a range of issues, including the expenditure that is contractually committed, the HSE's annual requirement in relation to meeting risks associated with clinical equipment, ambulances and healthcare infrastructure.The HSE capital plan will propose the projects that can be progressed in 2019 and beyond, having regard to the available capital funding, the number of large national projects under way, the cashflow requirements attaching to each project and the relevant priority. Projects that are currently under construction and contractually committed to will not be affected. Once the HSE finalises the capital plan for 2019, it will be submitted to the Minister for consideration.

I will convey the Senator's considerations and concerns to the Minister.