Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 106: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the costs to date to the Exchequer associated with co-location projects in respect of each of the projects proposed or under review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22472/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Programme for Government includes a commitment to provide an additional 1,500 public acute hospital beds. About 1,000 of these will be provided through the co-location initiative and the balance through the HSE's capital plan. The co-location initiative aims to make available additional acute beds for public patients through the transfer of private activity from public hospitals to colocated private hospitals.

Co-location was seen as the quickest and least expensive means of providing significant additional capacity for public patients. No capital outlay was required as the beds in the public hospitals were already in place, having been funded by the Exchequer. My Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Health Service Executive to arrange to have the detailed information regarding cost issued directly to the Deputy.