Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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92. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the various hospital building/extension/replacement programmes in County Kildare and throughout the country with particular reference to the replacement of obsolete buildings, old-fashioned practices or facilities and the provision of a modern health service to meet the public demand of an increased population; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52354/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The annual Capital Plan outlines the health capital projects which are being progressed across the country. I am happy to confirm that capital funding allocated in 2023 for the construction and equipping of healthcare facilities is €1.017 billion, an increase of 11% over 2022.

There are typically over 300 projects included in the capital plan each year across the country and across the sector. I know the Deputy is a strong advocate for capital projects in Kildare, and has a keen interest in Naas General Hospital.

By way of update, there are several projects in train at Naas General Hospital. These include the new Lakeview Mental Health Unit for which a strategic assessment report is being prepared. This will provide 50 high-quality beds, including 9 Intensive Care Beds.

Also in Naas, construction of the Modular Isolation Unit is due to complete in early Q1 2023 providing 12 rooms to assist in the isolation of suspected COVID-19 and other infectious organisms’ cases.

I am happy to follow up with the Deputy with more detailed information on capital projects in Kildare.

At national level, my Department is developing a Strategic Healthcare Investment Framework. This Framework will build on the extensive research and papers recently published by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service.

The Framework will utilise multiple criteria, including population-based requirements, in the assessment and strategic prioritisation of health investment proposals to ensure investments are evidence informed, equitable, and facilitate the delivery of improved health outcomes.

/ie/oireachtas/debates/questions/supportingDocumentation/2022-10-20_pq113-20-10-22_en.docx">Plan

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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93. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the need for an elective hospital for Limerick and the mid-west (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52398/22]

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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331. To ask the Minister for Health his views on the suitability of the St. John's Hospital site for an elective hospital for the mid-west; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52540/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 331 together.

As the Deputy will be aware, in December 2021 the Government agreed, subject to the necessary approvals and requirements under the Public Spending Code being met, a new National Elective Ambulatory Care Strategy. We are developing additional capacity which will be provided through dedicated, standalone Elective Hospitals in Cork, Galway and Dublin.

The locations chosen will allow for new facilities of a size and scale to implement a national elective care programme that will tackle waiting lists on a national basis. This means that the new facilities will be designed to maximise their capacity and in doing so will operate to cover as wide a catchment area as possible, extending beyond existing and future health areas including Limerick and the mid-west.

I was in Limerick last week and discussed this matter with the Deputy as well as the Senior Management Team at the Hospital - and I would very much like to acknowledge the hard work of the Deputy and others in relation to this area. As he knows, I am committed to continued improvement of the elective care system in Ireland and I have been impressed to see solutions developed locally, such as the Reeves Day Surgery Unit at Tallaght University Hospital which has succeeded in significantly reducing waiting times for patients. I am clear that we need to keep an open mind as to how elective care is best delivered in Limerick and across the country.