The Government commits to opening surgical hubs and assessing the business case for a surgical hub in the north west. The HSE is developing that and I have yet to receive it. The factors the HSE will take into account include the population distribution. I had a very good visit to Letterkenny hospital last week and note its funding has increased by over 54% in recent years. The staff number has increased by a quarter and there has been a very significant investment, but it is also true that the surgeons in the hospital need more surgical capacity and, in particular, more beds to ensure they have scheduled surgical access. I am very well aware of that.

Sentiment score: 0.31

I am conscious that the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O’Connor, has responsibility for this. I might ask her to come back to the Deputy directly on the details on this. I know she is very interested in this and has a very strong focus on consultation. I might ask her to come back to the Deputy with her ideas.

Sentiment score: 0.19

I have been told to expect that report from HIQA in May. I have no further details beyond that. We always debate matters in the Dáil, so there is no difficulty with that. I would point out two things. The Deputy is right about Limerick. It is under particular pressure. The opening of the 96-bed block is absolutely essential to alleviate that pressure. Other than that, there are sites of considerable concern that cannot be explained in the same way. I want to call out St. Vincent’s hospital in particular as well as Tallaght, Cork and Galway. I mention St. Vincent’s in particular. I am doing a detailed analysis of the rostering in these hospitals. To give the Deputy comfort, I would point out that Limerick is the only hospital that is consistently providing the correct rostering over the weekends and has very significant increases in its discharges as a consequence. However, it is stuck on capacity in terms of beds in particular, and the 96-bed block is absolutely crucial. I expect that to be delivered in September.

Sentiment score: -0.11