Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the news, in particular her announcement that the transfer of services will be complete by March 2024. That is literally two or three weeks away. There has been major concern locally that this has slipped and slipped, and there have been issues as to how CUH and the Mercy were combining with the new South Infirmary and how they are all tying together. The capacity now needs to be spoken about. That is really important. We need to start talking about that and what the service will deliver to the region. The figure as to what is projected, in particular for 2024 and 2025, needs to be publicised, and we need to make sure we stick to those capacity levels. Will the Minister of State give us an indication of the projected capacity as regards her proposal and this €5 million investment? As she rightly said, it is a really significant investment for the Cork region, which badly requires this service.