Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of the redevelopment is to provide single rooms that maintain and enhance the dignity and privacy of patients. Ireland has a well-earned reputation for providing high-quality, specialist palliative care thanks to a long-standing positive working relationship between the voluntary and statutory sectors. Collaboration between organisations such as the North West Hospice and the HSE ensure that an integrated approach to palliative care is created, meeting the needs of people across the north west.

I again thank the management and staff of the hospice for the quality care they provide for the people of the north west. The addition of four more inpatient palliative care beds in Sligo is part of a wider move to increase the availability of specialist inpatient palliative care services. There are currently 214 inpatient palliative care beds in hospices at a national level and, by the end of 2020, a further 55 inpatient beds will be opened in hospices in counties Waterford, Wicklow, Kildare and Mayo, bringing the total number of hospice beds to 269.

National palliative care policy seeks to ensure that there is a hospice serving every region. This Government will continue to work with hospice organisations to ensure people with life-limiting conditions throughout the country receive the palliative care they require.