Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will convey Senator Kyne's concerns to the Minister, the Department and the HSE. As he knows, the project is of a huge, significant scale and it is progressing through the stages outlined in the public spending code. The preliminary business case, as I said, is under review with the HSE and pending board approval. I hope that we will get board approval as quickly as possible.

This project is part of a larger development that incorporates maternity and paediatric services. It is included in the HSE capital programme. In advance of permanent arrangements, approval was granted to complete a temporary extension to the emergency department to provide additional accommodation, which is expected to be completed in early 2022.

The main emergency department and women's and children's block development at University Hospital Galway is, as the Senator said, a complex project and it is in the early stages of design progression. While there is no date yet for the planning application for the main building, the HSE is actively engaging with the local authority as the project proceeds through the initial stages of the public spending code. Again, I will convey the concerns of the Senator to the Minister and to the Department of Health, and to see can we get all of the various stakeholders to progress the project as quickly as possible because the Senator has articulately raised his concerns. The Senator been in here many times trying to push on the project and I hope that we will push it as quickly as possible.