Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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1419. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the strategic assessment report for the new emergency department at Beaumont Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1174/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As outlined in response to Oral PQ no. 4 on the 8th December 2022, the proposed new Emergency Department (ED), including reconfiguration of the existing ED, at Beaumont Hospital is a large and complex proposal, which is in the early stages of design development.

The delivery of capital projects is a dynamic process and is subject to the successful completion of the various approval stages, in line with the new lifecycle approach of the updated Public Spending Code (PSC).

The HSE has appointed a design team and, whilst it is in early stages of development, the Design Report is now completed. The design team will continue through this design process including the statutory planning applications.

In parallel to this work, the HSE is drafting a Strategic Assessment Report (SAR). It is expected this SAR will be submitted to the Department of Health in early 2023. It has yet to be submitted by the HSE.

If the SAR satisfies the requirements of the Public Spending Code, a preliminary business case can be developed, building on the work of the design team.

Given the impact of construction inflation and supply chain issues in the construction sector arising from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the proposals could potentially cost over €100m. For all projects proposed in excess of €100m Government is the approving authority.

The preliminary business case would then be reviewed under the Public Spending Code and submitted to Government for approval. This approval would enable the HSE to proceed to develop a procurement strategy and tender documents for the new ED.

Unfortunately, the timeline for the new ED cannot estimated be made until after the completion of a tender competition and submission of the Final Business case to Government for approval.