Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes. The Senator always raises many health issues. She regularly brings the concerns of residents to my attention with respect to the national children's hospital. As we discussed at the health committee meeting a couple of weeks ago, it is very important that residents are kept informed and communicated with. Senior people from the construction company and the HSE turn up at those meetings. There will be disruption when one lives near the site of any major project but people must be good neighbours when it comes to construction and the HSE must be good neighbours to the local community as well. I will keep in touch with the Senator in that regard.

My message to the Seanad this afternoon is that we have a significant increase in capital spending for our health service for the next ten years. We must spend this wisely and learn lessons from what has happened in respect of some of the other major capital projects. We must also get on and deliver. We need a significant increase in the number of hospital beds in our community right across our country and I am pleased we now have the funding to drive on those projects. They cannot come soon enough and I look forward to keeping in touch with the Seanad on them.