David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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2089. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the upgrade of the emergency department of Galway university hospital; when the project will move to the next stage; the estimated cost; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44640/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The upgrade of the emergency department forms part of an overall master planning process for University Hospital Galway (UHG) campus. In late 2023, Saolta convened a Capital Programme Oversight Board to develop a clinically led, holistic master planning approach for the campus. This planning process has been informed by population health needs and clinical demand for the region. A number of projects of significant scale have been proposed on the campus, including the new emergency department, a new helipad, additional bed capacity, new paediatric and maternity facilities, labs, and cancer centre.

A Development Control Plan (DCP) for the campus has been completed to provide a clear plan for the sequencing and phased delivery of the new capacity and facilities. This sequencing has been led and informed by the clinical priorities for the region and the need to deliver new and replacement capacity in a phased manner to minimise disruption to ongoing service delivery on a live hospital campus. The immediate priority identified in the master planning is the delivery of significant additional inpatient bed capacity to mitigate the pressures on, and support delivery of, a range of services on the campus.

At the end of May 2025, the Department of Health received a copy of the DCP and programme Strategic Assessment Report (SAR) for the proposals at UHG. These documents are currently being reviewed against the requirements of D/PENDR’s Infrastructure Guidelines and will be returned to the HSE with feedback, to be subsumed into the Preliminary Business Case (PBC) for the first phases of the works, which is under development in parallel.

To deliver much-needed new facilities at UHG a significant volume of enabling works will be required. The HSE has advised that initial enabling works on UHG campus to support this programme of works have begun.

The enhanced National Development Plan (NDP) provision for the health sector for 2026–2030 is €9.25 billion. Building on a strong track record of infrastructure delivery and significant increases in capital expenditure in recent years, this will further support the delivery of equitable, accessible and high-quality healthcare across Ireland, including in Galway.

As set out in the NDP review, I, together with officials in my Department, will be working with the HSE and other stakeholders in the coming period to develop a detailed capital plan for this allocated capital funding.

As with any projects of the scale proposed for the UHG campus, estimates on timeline and cost cannot be made until the completion of a Final Business Case, completion of the tender process, and determination that a proposal remains affordable and continues to represent value for money.