Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. It is great to hear that commitment. The commitment to Portiuncula University Hospital and the Saolta group mean that our healthcare teams in the west will be able to cope when faced with the worst public health crisis ever. It means that patients in our hospital will receive the care that they deserve.

I ask the Minister of State to accelerate the project if at all possible. We need it now. As far as I know, the modular unit is up and running. Funding was received for that and the hospital authorities moved things out of the outpatient unit. If we could get a move on that quickly the beds would be available. There could be single rooms to handle isolation. The hospital is dealing with infectious patients, be they potential Covid cases or the normal flu, and there is no place to isolate them.

I appreciate the commitment of the Minister of State on this. As she will be aware, all public representatives very much support the hospital and hope that, at a national level, the HSE will give that commitment as soon as possible to the Saolta healthcare group. I appreciate the time of the Minister of State.