Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. It is important to recognise that Drogheda hospital is an extremely important hospital, serving the population of the north east. The Senator is correct that the population is increasing and will continue to increase. The staffing levels, as I have outlined, have increased. The budget has increased by more than 27% from approximately €200 million to €260 million. There are plans for new beds over the next three to four years. The target date is for 96 new beds to be delivered between March 2025 and 2028. By 2031 the total number of new beds will be 141. The Senator is correct about the growing ageing population; we do need to plan for that also.

Recent years have seen the increase of both adult and paediatric emergency departments and the reconfiguration of wards to improve infection control. They are ongoing projects on the capital plan to improve inpatient accommodation.

On further improvements, the HSE has robust systems and procedures to manage and deliver infrastructure projects. The capital planning process begins by requiring all proposals to be signed off by the relevant integrated health area. Proposals are then forwarded to the relevant HSE directive for sign-off. That is being prioritised at the moment. There is already a plan in place for the next three to four years. Yes, plans may be altered and added to and it is important where the requirement is outlined, that we add to them and deliver on them.