Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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674. To ask the Minister for Health when the new hospital for County Galway will proceed to planning; when construction will commence; when the hospital will open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12923/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The National Development Plan provides €10.9 billion to invest in infrastructure, equipment and additional service capacity for the public health sector. This represents an increase of 165% in capital funding over the previous decade.

It is important to recognise that this is a long-term plan which provides for a large number of Health developments across the country, including both national programmes and individual projects, across acute, primary and social care.

We must ensure that we carefully plan the use of this capital funding so as to meet the population needs and achieve value for money.

As is to be expected with a ten year plan, many proposals, including an elective-only hospital in Galway, are at an early stage and will require to progress through appraisal, planning, design and tender before a firm location, timeline or funding required can be established.