Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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1360. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the planned replacement hospital for St. Joseph’s Hospital, Ennis, County Clare. [33353/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of public healthcare infrastructure projects, they have advised that the HSE has agreed to purchase the site comprising 5.09 acres at Diocesan lands located near the Turnpike in Ennis, Co. Clare for the new 100-bed Community Nursing Unit. (CNU)

The project will see a new facility providing a 100-bed HIQA compliant CNU for long stay residents. The unit will include 88 single rooms, 4 twin rooms and 4 palliative care rooms and will be designed to comply with the “National Quality Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People in Ireland” published by HIQA in 2009. The site selection comes after an extensive option appraisal of a number of sites in the Ennis environs and represents the best option available to the HSE.

The purchase of the site is subject to planning permission for the development of a Community Nursing Unit. The contracts are signed and exchanged. The first stage of procurement of a design team has commenced and it is planned to have a full design team appointed before the end of the year. The expected timeframe for the project will be in the region of 3 years following design team appointment.