Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for giving us the opportunity to provide an update to the House on the replacement 92-bed community nursing unit at St. Vincent's Hospital in Athy, County Kildare. As the Senator has quite rightly said, the hospital was first built in 1844. It provides rehabilitation, respite and extended care to male and female residents, the majority of whom are over 65 years of age.

The standard of care delivered to residents in public units is generally very high. We recognise that many of our community hospitals are housed in buildings that are less than ideal in a modern context. However, without them, many older people would not have access to the care they need. It is therefore important that we upgrade our public bed stock. The purpose of the HIQA compliance community nursing unit replacement programme is to replace, upgrade and refurbish, as appropriate, these care facilities across the country.

The community nursing unit in St. Vincent's Hospital in Athy is part of this programme. A design team has been appointed to progress St. Vincent's Hospital, Athy. The proposed new facility will provide a total of over 7,000 sq. m of floor area. It will include single-storey dementia wards over a phased build and will see the demolition of the five single-storey prefab wings that are attached to the existing protected structure. This project will be completed in two phases with the 48-bed unit to the rear of the site to be delivered as part of the first construction phase. Phase 2 will entail 44 beds including two ten-bed dementia units and three associated courtyards over one and two storeys. The scope of this project will enable HSE older persons services to decant and vacate the protected structure.

Planning permission was granted for the phased construction of the 92-bed CNU in August 2023. The project is being progressed under the capital programme for 2024. The proposed new 92-bed CNU is now at stage 2C, detailed design and tender, in line with the HSE's capital projects manual and approval protocol. The approved capital budget for phase 1 of this project, the 48-bed unit, will be confirmed upon the completion of stage 2C, detailed design and tender. It is anticipated that the project could commence on site in quarter 1 of 2025, subject to the relevant approvals. All capital development proposals must progress through a number of approval stages in line with the public spending code, including detailed appraisal, planning, design and procurement, before a firm timeline or funding requirement can be established. The delivery of capital projects is a dynamic process that is subject to the successful completion of the various approval stages. The final decision to proceed with construction cannot be made until the tender process has been completed and the costings reviewed to ensure that the proposal delivers value for money and remains affordable and that sufficient funding is available to fund the project to completion. This includes equipping and commissioning costs.