Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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2683. To ask the Minister for Health in view of the CSO showing Ireland’s population reached 5.38 million, driven by net migration of 79,300 in a single year, the specific hospital beds places that will be delivered by the Government in 2026 to keep pace with this surge. [47967/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The HSE has responsibility for the development of the National Service Plan (NSP), which sets out the type and volume of health and social care services the HSE will provide for the funding it receives each year, and includes commitments in relation to the number of acute hospital beds the HSE expects to deliver in a given year. The development of NSP 2026 will be subject to my annual statement of priorities as Minister for Health and the funding outlined in the Letter of Determination that will issue to the HSE within 21 days of the Budget 2026 announcement. As such, at this juncture, I am not in a position to provide a specific commitment in terms of the number of hospital beds that will be delivered in 2026.

In addition, as associated documents of NSP 2026, the Capital Plan 2026 and ICT Capital Plan 2026 will also be subject to my annual statement of priorities and the funding allocations in the Letter of Determination. The Capital Plan, reviewed annually, derives from the Programme for Government and Ministerial priorities. Framed within the context of delivering universal healthcare, the Plan takes account of strategic projects and programmes, as well as recent Ministerial priorities, including bed capacity expansion.

All proposals for new health infrastructure will be centred on evidence-based demand analysis in line with the Strategic Healthcare Investment Framework and established on a healthcare need prioritised by regional colleagues, to ensure that investment in capital projects will help to deliver the right healthcare in the right place, at the right time, within the funding available. The construction targets set out in the Capital Plan 2026 will support the service delivery of additional hospital beds across the country.