Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 98: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she has had recent discussions on funding issues with the companies that have been selected to provide co-located private hospitals on public grounds; if they have identified problems on securing capital for such projects; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45508/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The aim of the acute hospital co-location initiative is to make available 1,000 additional public acute hospital beds for public patients by transferring private activity, with some limited exceptions, from public acute hospitals to co-located private hospitals.

Significant progress has been made on the co-location initiative. The Board of the HSE has approved preferred bidder status for the development of co-located hospitals at Beaumont, Cork University, Limerick Regional, St James's, Sligo and Waterford Regional Hospitals. Project Agreements for the first four of these projects have been signed. Planning permission was granted by An Bord Pleanála for the Beaumont project in November 2008. The decision of An Bord Pleanála is awaited in the case of the Cork and Limerick projects, where planning has been granted and appealed. An application for planning permission in respect of the St James's project is expected to be made shortly. Preparatory work in relation to the Project Agreements for the two remaining projects is proceeding.

A tender in respect of Connolly Hospital has been received and is under consideration. Work is being undertaken to finalise the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for Tallaght Hospital.

It is a matter for each of the successful bidders to arrange to finance the projects in accordance with the terms of the relevant Project Agreement. Although it is certainly the case that the funding environment has changed radically in the last six months, in relation to both public and private sectors, the co-location initiative like other major projects has to deal with this. The successful bidders are working on the details of contractual terms with banks and other arrangers of finance in the very difficult and changed credit environment. I have not met the successful bidders to discuss the financing of the projects, as this is an operational matter. However the HSE is continuing to work with them to ensure that the co-located hospitals can be built and brought into operation as soon as possible, and that the goal of achieving new public acute bed capacity at value for money to the State is achieved.