Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Kyne for raising this matter and for this opportunity to provide an update on the status of the new emergency department at University Hospital Galway. I also take this opportunity to acknowledge the very difficult and unacceptable conditions for patients and families and healthcare staff who work in University Hospital Galway.

I am pleased to say, as the Senator acknowledged, that an interim or temporary emergency department has opened in the hospital in recent weeks. That is a €13 million capital investment which has delivered an interim emergency department with more capacity, as mentioned by the Senator. There are now 43 patient bays compared with 34 bays in the pre-Covid emergency department. The unit also provides 43 single, closed cubicles and extra resuscitation bays thus providing greater dignity and privacy for patients in Galway. Practical completion of the interim emergency department was achieved in July 2022 and after a commissioning, equipping and training phase the unit opened over the weekend of 8 and 9 October.

I am aware this emergency department proposal has been discussed for the last ten years. I share the frustrations of the team in Galway and the patients there. One of the reasons that the proposal is still in a development phase is that there has been a very significant increase in the scale and ambition for the solution on the Galway site.

Originally the proposal was for a new multistorey emergency department block at an estimated cost of between €65 million and €120 million. However, as a result of service-led demands, the proposal now incorporates a new emergency department, and a new maternity and paediatric block which is likely to require capital investment of hundreds of millions of euro.

As the Senator will be aware, all projects proposed in excess of €100 million must be subject to the full scrutiny of the public spending code process. The code is designed to ensure that investment decisions are underpinned by a clear policy rationale and that costs are well understood. This ensures that maximum value for money can be achieved for the taxpayer through disciplined project evaluation, preparation and implementation.

The strategic assessment report for the proposal is under review by the various policy areas within the Department of Health to ensure its alignment with national policies and strategies. Also, this is being done to ensure that the scale and ambition of the proposal is in line with national policy objectives and affordability within the overall capital envelope.

Once the departmental review of the strategic assessment report is completed it will be submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for review. If that Department finds that the strategic assessment report provides a basis to proceed then approval will be granted to develop the proposal by means of a preliminary business case. The interim emergency department and associated works will also serve as enabling works for the larger proposal subject to its approval under the public service code.

I have noted the Senator's comment that one in eight patients is on a trolley in University Hospital Galway. I accept that he welcomes the interim emergency department but does not want it to become the permanent solution. I know that there are concerns around that and the delays. I note the Senator got a commitment in 2018 and that we seem to be a long way off planning. The Senator wants to know why that has happened and I hope that I have outlined the reasons, and the processes, that must be followed in order to achieve the same outcome.