Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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It is wonderful to have a Minister of State from Limerick in front of me after the weekend we had. It is great to have this opportunity to discuss a very important issue with our Minister of State from Limerick.

On a more serious note, I have a Commencement matter put down today on the need for the Minister for Health to provide an update on a new endoscopy unit based in Bantry General Hospital, including timelines for the unit being operational. This is a very important debate to get clarification on the good work that is happening in Bantry General Hospital at the moment. We have seen significant development in Bantry General Hospital. In fact, the budget since 2019 has increased by nearly 20%. It is a significant driver in our community. I want to outline what is happening with this really important unit and maybe get the timeline for when it will actually be fully finished and opened.

Bantry General Hospital is a unique entity in our part of the world. It is a remote rural hospital that provides acute general services to the population of west Cork but also to places such places as mid-Cork, south Kerry and potentially all the way over to the Minister of State's part of the world in Limerick. It is literally such a driver in our economy. It has 330 whole-time equivalents, which means more than 600 staff work there. There are 17 house doctors and an amazing six full-time consultants based there. Significant investment has been happening in this complex over the past ten years in particular. I outline the endoscopy unit which we are talking about here today. There is a day service with outreach surgeries, an injuries unit, a department of medicine, a high-dependency unit, an acute medical assessment unit, a stroke unit, radiation wards, laboratories, physiotherapy and cardiac testing. It is an amazing complex with so much happening in Bantry.

What has happened, unfortunately, is that we are in an election cycle. In election cycles this hospital always becomes a political football. I acknowledge the wonderful staff there who do so much for Bantry. I mention in particular Carole Croke, the general manager, who works day and night to make sure the complex works to its full potential. It is about trying to get the mix out of this political football. There has been significant development. Significant money has been put in. This unit is now upgraded and is nearly finished. I was there in recent weeks to watch the good work there.This unit will be an important part of the master plan for Bantry General Hospital. It is unfortunate that some local election candidates have used their literature to talk about Bantry General Hospital being downgraded. If anything, the investment we have seen has been amazing. I want to get that on the record of the Seanad today. The amount of money we have spent and services we have put in, with the real focus we have put on the complex in the past ten years, have to be looked at. The feeling in Bantry is that this is one of the best hospitals in the country and the staff are the best in the country. To have local election candidates going around talking about it being downgraded is unfair on the staff, the management and the people who use the service daily.

I had the privilege, a few weeks ago, of walking through this unit that has been proposed and nearly finished. I am looking for an update regarding when that will be up and running, when the timelines will be set in order that we can have another step in making sure that Bantry will continue to be the world-class unit that it is,and to dispel the myths that will come up in every election, that it is closing down. It is anything but. It is thriving and moving forward.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the guests here this afternoon with our colleague, Senator Clonan. They are transition year students. We have Emily, who is from Athy, which is in Senator O'Loughlin's constituency, as is Lulu, who is from Kildare, also in Senator O'Loughlin's constituency. I welcome James and Theo, who are from Blackrock College. I hope they have a good day here in Leinster House, that they learn a great deal, and that they ask Senator Clonan plenty of questions, because he has all the answers.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I agree with that. I thank Senator Lombard for allowing me the opportunity to update the House on the new endoscopy unit in Bantry General Hospital. Bantry General Hospital is a busy model 2 hospital providing services to the population of west Cork and south Kerry, from the Beara and Sheep’s Head peninsulas in the south to Kenmare in the west, Macroom and Clonakilty in the north and Timoleague in the east, and includes several inhabited islands. It is aligned with Cork University Hospital.

The Government has invested significantly in allocating additional resources to Bantry General Hospital to meet the needs of patients using the facility. Staffing at the hospital has grown by 67 since the end of December 2019, from 266 to 331 at the end of March 2024. This represents an increase in staffing of almost 25%, with seven more consultants, 20 more non-consultant hospital doctors, 147 more nurses and midwives and 33 more health and social care professionals.

In 2019, Bantry General Hospital had a budget of just under €20 million. In 2024, the budget increased to just over €25 million, meaning its budget has grown by about 27.5% over the years from 2019 to 2024. Bantry General Hospital has more than 100 inpatient and day-case beds and provides services such as: an urgent care centre, consisting of a medical assessment unit and local injury unit; acute, stroke, rehabilitation and residential services, along with acute general services, including medicine, cardiology, radiology and laboratory services; outpatient services; and a high dependency unit. In addition, a palliative care service is supported by Marymount hospital.

At present, endoscopy services at Bantry General Hospital are provided in the urgent care unit as part of its diagnostic services. Construction of the endoscopy unit in Bantry General Hospital is currently under way and works are scheduled to be complete in quarter three of this year. The new building is anticipated to be handed over by the contractors to HSE estates by quarter three of 2024, at which stage internal inspection by the HSE shall be undertaken. Thereafter, commissioning and equipping of the unit will take place. It is currently envisaged that service delivery will take place by in quarter four of this year. The Senator may also be aware of the proposed stroke rehabilitation unit at Bantry General Hospital, which was tendered for at the same time as the endoscopy unit. This separate project has full planning permission and all statutory compliances. Plans are at an advanced stage to develop the stroke rehabilitation unit, and the project is included in the capital programme for 2024.All capital development proposals must progress through a number of approval stages, in line with the infrastructure guidelines, which supersede the public spending code, including detailed appraisal, planning, design and procurement before funding for each stage can be confirmed. The successful completion of the various approval stages determines the timeline for delivery of capital projects. The 2024 capital plan is with the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, for review and approval. It will be published in line with established procedures once approved.

Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his update regarding the great work that is happening in Bantry General Hospital. I want to acknowledge that we will have this unit up and running by the fourth quarter of 2024, which dispels the myth that it will not be delivered. It will be a really important development not alone for west Cork but also for south Kerry and mid-Cork. It is a really significant development and another plank in making sure Bantry General Hospital is going to become the best regional hospital in the country.

The political footballing has to stop here. It is absolutely chaotic. The idea that Bantry hospital is going to close is a myth that is out there. Those who are trying to talk it down are doing no good to Bantry. If anything, they are trying to close it by stealth by making sure people do not come there. When I think of the staff working there now, I am reminded that there are 20 house doctors, which is an amazing figure. We have never seen this before. It needs to be acknowledged. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber to clarify this issue and to dispel the myth that has been put out there that Bantry General Hospital is being downgraded.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Lombard for raising this issue. Misinformation and disinformation being peddled by people on the doorsteps in the middle of an election campaign is really regrettable. The Senator is right to use this opportunity to allow me to outline to the people of west Cork and south Kerry the investment the Government has made in Bantry General Hospital. I have relations in the area who have been clients or service users of Bantry General Hospital. They have nothing but good words to say about the place in terms of the experience they had there and the level of care they received. It is really regrettable that people would try to spread misinformation that Bantry General Hospital is on a path to closure. It is anything but. I have detailed the significant investment; the ramping up of the operating budget, the number of medical professionals working there and the capacity; and the broadening of the range of services there. Nothing could be further from the truth. Bantry General Hospital is a major priority for the Minister for Health, the Government and the HSE.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his time today. I know Tuesday is a very busy day so we appreciate his coming to the Seanad to take these Commencement matters.