Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for choosing this important Commencement matter for debate. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan. I have raised this matter a number of times in the past 18 months. This is probably the third or fourth time the Minister of State has been before me. The Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, has appeared before me as well, but I have yet to meet the senior Minister in the Chamber to discuss this matter of importance to Galway and the wider west.

As the Minister of State has pointed out previously, a temporary emergency department is under construction. The situation is confusing because some people believe that it is actually the new emergency department. It is not, of course. I am told that phase 1 is scheduled for handover in April and the internal replanned area will be handed over in July. Thereafter, a planning application for the permanent emergency department will be progressed.

This situation has been ongoing for a number of years. A welcome decision was made that the new building would include full paediatric and maternity services as well as the emergency department. That was a positive move. While there have been internal and decanting work in respect of the temporary emergency department, the planning application for the emergency department has still not been lodged. I do not see why that cannot be done in conjunction with the work that is going on but instead, it seems that Saolta University Health Care Group must wait for the works to be completed.

I know that there is a process regarding the public spending code. I ask the Minister of State to confirm if that is being assessed. Has it been completed or it is with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform or the HSE estates national unit at the moment? I ask all that because it is important that that is confirmed, that permission is granted and that Saolta can progress to the lodging of the planning application.

As I have said on numerous occasions, nothing can be built without planning permission. It does not matter what the project is; planning permission must be granted. In this case, Saolta University Health Care Group has not lodged its planning application for a new emergency department in University Hospital Galway. This is vitally important.

The staff in the emergency department do Trojan work day in and day out. Also, the number of people on trolleys varies. Sometimes the hospital has the highest number of people on trolleys in the country, as it had for a long period last autumn and other times it has the second highest numbers. That is not good enough for patients, staff or those who want to visit their loved ones. Obviously people could not visit their loved ones during Covid periods or visiting opportunities were limited but things are getting back to normal now and it is not good enough for anybody that such a situation remains.

We need to give hope to people that an emergency department is definitely on its way. The most important stages are the lodging and granting of the planning application. We will still have a long way to go in terms of tenders, constructions contracts and all of that. I seek confirmation from the Minister of State on timelines, the next stages of the project and when a planning application will be lodged by Saolta University Health Care Group for an emergency department for University Hospital Galway, which is a centre of excellence for the region. I hope that he can provide some information on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and that he will confirm dates and a timeline for this vital project.