Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

1062. To ask the Minister for Health when the proposed new elective hospital for North Dublin will proceed to a formal planning application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23624/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

1063. To ask the Minister for Health the number of beds the proposed new elective hospital for North Dublin will have; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23625/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

1064. To ask the Minister for Health the number of operating theatres the proposed new elective hospital for North Dublin will have; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23626/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

1065. To ask the Minister for Health the number of staff the proposed new elective hospital for North Dublin will have; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23627/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

1066. To ask the Minister for Health the medical specialties the proposed new elective hospital for North Dublin will have; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23628/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

1067. To ask the Minister for Health the number of procedures the new elective hospital for North Dublin will be expected to carry out annually; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23629/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

1068. To ask the Minister for Health to provide what procedures the new elective hospital for North Dublin will perform, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23630/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

1069. To ask the Minister for Health to confirm if the location for the new North Dublin hospital is on the grounds of Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23631/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

1070. To ask the Minister for Health the size of the site required for the new North Dublin hospital building and parking area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23632/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

1071. To ask the Minister for Health the budget for design build and construction of the new North Dublin hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23633/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1062 to 1071, inclusive, together.

The Government is actively working to increase elective care capacity in Ireland. The national ambulatory strategy, supported by the Programme for Government, provides for a national network of surgical hubs and elective treatment centres (also referred to as Elective Hospitals), ensuring that high-quality and timely care is available to all.

The development of these new elective facilities will support the separation of scheduled (elective) and unscheduled (emergency) care. This can lead to improved care for patients with fewer cancellations and delays for elective care caused by seasonal surges, localised outbreaks, and surges in emergency attendances.

Preferred sites have been identified for the four Elective Treatment Centres, including two in Dublin (one at the current Children's Hospital site in Crumlin and the other at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown). This network of facilities will benefit patients across the country, no matter where they live or their ‘catchment’ area.

The new elective centres will be providing planned day case care only; there will be no overnight stays (and therefore no beds). The Programme Business Case for the overall ambulatory programme has so far identified 10 specialties within scope for the new facilities: General Surgery; Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose & Throat); Orthopaedics; Plastic Surgery; Ophthalmology; Gastroenterology; Urology; Pain Medicine; Gynaecology; and Vascular surgery. These will remain under consideration as the programme progresses.

At the end of last year, the HSE appointed an Integrated Design Team and Project Controls Team to progress detailed design to inform planning submissions and the statutory and regulatory approvals required. The HSE is also carrying out a ‘Demand and Capacity’ review for Dublin to provide a clear understanding of the capacity requirements in the Dublin region. Final delivery of the Dublin Elective Treatment Centres will be informed by the programme principle of ‘design once, build four times’, to optimise efficiencies, delivery timelines and value for money.

Whilst the programme is still in development, the Preliminary Business Case estimated that the total additional capacity to be provided by the overall Elective Hospitals Programme (in terms of ‘high volume, low complexity’ procedures, treatments and diagnostics) to be 977,700 annually. In Dublin, the two facilities will provide approximately 25 new operating theatres, 28 endoscopy suites and 30 minor operation rooms, alongside a significant number of diagnostic, treatment and consultation rooms.

In the interim, as part of the wider elective care programme, the HSE is delivering new Surgical Hubs across the country. I opened the first of these at Mount Carmel in February this year. Each hub once fully operational will deliver more than 28,000 day cases, minor operations and outpatient consultations annually. The next Surgical Hub to open will be in Swords, north Dublin later this year. This will be followed by Hubs in Galway, Cork, Waterford and Limerick.

Delivering these new facilities will require significant investment, and I am engaging with my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP and Reform to secure the necessary funding through the NDP review.