I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising this important matter. Long-term residential care is a crucial part of the overall continuum of care and, across the country, our HSE community nursing units, CNUs, and community hospitals play a vital role in the provision of long-term care and other services. The Government is committed to continued investment in healthcare infrastructure that supports the highest quality care for our older population. This investment includes the community nursing home capital programme, which was launched to ensure that up to 90 of our public community nursing units and community hospitals would be refurbished or replaced to ensure the best quality environments for our older people. The public private partnership aspect of the community nursing unit programme continues to progress and will deliver 528 beds in seven facilities across the country. The new community nursing unit in Killarney is part of the public private partnership project and will have a complement of 130 beds providing 50 long-stay beds, 30 dementia-specific beds and 50-short stay beds. The CNU will provide a high-quality living environment that will be in line with all regulatory requirements. I advise the Deputy that the new facility was handed over to the HSE by the contractor in December 2025. I accept that is over four or five months ago. HSE South West has advised me that preparations for Killarney CNU to welcome residents are now at an advanced stage. The application for the registration of Killarney CNU has been submitted to HIQA and an opening date for the new CNU will be fully finalised once HIQA registration has been achieved, and this will allow for the opening over the coming weeks. Once HIQA registration is secured, the new unit will open on a phased basis, with a planned transfer of residents from St. Columbanus and the district hospital, as the Deputy already referenced, to the new building. HSE South West has assured me that there is ongoing engagement with residents and their families ahead of the transfer. I have taken a particular personal interest in the opening of this CNU. I have met the HSE on a number of occasions with Department officials to ensure that Killarney CNU is opened as quickly as possible. There is a process, and part of the process is that it has to be taken over by the HSE, which happened in December, and then there is an application to HIQA, which has happened. I have requested that engagement with residents and their families take place. All current staff will transfer to the new facility, and I have been advised that the recruitment campaigns for the additional staff required are well under way to allow for the opening of the additional beds in Killarney CNU. The current two nursing homes have 101 patients. Those staff will transfer to the new CNU. There will be an additional 29 patients to bring it up to a full complement of 130. Engagement with union representatives at a local level is also ongoing and I thank the staff representatives for their continued engagement. That is taking place. I have spoken directly to the HSE about it and have been assured that it is taking place. I thank the staff representative bodies for their continued engagement. I advise the Deputy that HSE South West will continue to engage with residents, families, staff and the wider community on all updates in relation to the opening of the new Killarney community nursing unit. HSE South West advises that it does not envisage that the current delay in opening the new Killarney community nursing unit will have any impact on services or new developments. HSE South West is planning to set up an injury unit in the vacated St. Columbanus building to support the existing emergency department in University Hospital Kerry in Tralee and does not foresee any delay in these planned services. A process to appoint a design team to progress the proposal is under way and is expected to conclude in the quarter 2 of this year. The opening of the new community nursing unit in Killarney is an absolute priority for me, the Department of Health and the HSE, and indeed the Government. This state-of-the-art CNU will enhance the lives of older people in Killarney and the surrounding areas for many years to come by providing the highest quality health and social care services, and I look forward to seeing it fully operational.

Sentiment score: 0.33

I thank Deputy Healy-Rae. I join with him in commending all the staff in both St. Columbanus and the district hospital in Killarney who provide such a great service to the patients who are there. As I said, the 101 patients will transfer over to the new community nursing home unit. All current staff will transfer to the new facility and I have been advised that the recruitment campaigns for additional staff are well under way to allow for the opening of the additional beds in Killarney. I want to see the new community nursing home unit open in Killarney. That is a process. There is an application before HIQA and the way that will work is that the existing residents in St. Columbanus and the district hospital will transfer to the new nursing home when it is registered. I want to see the additional capacity of 29 beds in the CNU to bring it up to 130 beds to be in place as quickly as possible. As I said, it will provide 50 long-stay beds, 30 dementia-specific beds and 50 short-stay beds. It is hugely important and is a priority for me as the Minister of State with responsibility for older people. It is a priority for the Department of Health, the HSE and the Government. We will get the new, state-of-the-art community nursing home unit in Killarney open as quickly as possible. Everyone is working actively on that goal for Killarney. I will continue to meet the HSE, along with the Department of Health officials, to ensure that it continues to get the priority it deserves. I again state that the opening of the new community nursing home unit in Killarney is an absolute priority for myself, the Department of Health and the HSE. I am committed to ensuring that the residents can move into their new homes without delay. It is their home and that is something that is very important. I once again thank the staff representatives for their engagement. This is a collaborative effort and we all want to work to ensure that we get this new 130-bed state-of-the-art nursing home unit in Killarney open as quickly as possible.

Sentiment score: 0.25

I will follow up on that request.

Sentiment score: 0.00

I thank Deputy Quinlivan for the opportunity to discuss the challenges and the ongoing developments to support University Hospital Limerick and our health services across the mid- west region. I am taking this debate on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I acknowledge that there are significant challenges at the UHL site, which are having an impact on patients, staff and families in Limerick and the mid-west region. I also recognise the dedicated and hardworking staff at UHL and throughout the health services in the region and I accept that the numbers on trolleys are too high. The Government is working and is committed to addressing the challenges facing acute care across the mid-west. Investment in the hospitals in the region has increased from €370 million in 2019 to €763 million in 2025. The budget for UHL has increased from €265 million to €569 million in the same period. Staffing at the university hospital has grown by 57% to 4,422 whole-time equivalents, WTEs, since December 2019, which is an increase of 1,608 WTEs from 2,814. This includes 319 more whole-time equivalent doctors, including consultants, 616 more nurses and midwives, as well as 199 more health and social care professionals. The Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has been advised by the HSE that recruitment of clinical front-line staff at UHL and throughout the region can continue as normal. Baseline implementation of the safe staffing framework has been funded in UHL. The framework was implemented on a phased basis between 2022 and 2024 in the emergency department and all 22 medical and surgical wards. More must and will be done. The Government is fully committed to delivering the highest quality care in the mid-west. We have carefully considered all of HIQA’s recommendations following its review of urgent and emergency care in the region. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has listened carefully to the determined advocacy of people, healthcare professionals and public representatives across the mid-west. She has visited the region on a number of occasions and will continue to listen. The Minister remains focused on ensuring the recommendations arising from HIQA’s assessment are implemented in a timely and co-ordinated manner and that people in the mid-west have access to safe, high-quality and reliable care. HIQA’s review identified three potential options for the region, namely, option A, expand capacity at the UHL site in Dooradoyle; option B, extend the UHL campus to include an additional adjacent site; and option C, develop a model 3 hospital in the mid-west to provide a second emergency department. In December, the Minister for Health received Government support to progress a blend of all three options. Work to progress option A is being rapidly advanced, including the delivery of a new 96-bed block at Dooradoyle in October 2025. There is also ongoing work to deliver a second 96-bed block and planning is under way for additional 16- and 66-bed blocks. The ESRI projected that between 299 and 503 additional beds will be required across the mid-west by 2040 compared to 2023 levels. Under existing plans, we will deliver 420 additional beds by 2031, with 128 of these hospital beds already delivered at UHL. The second 96-bed block is getting under way, along with an additional 82 beds to be delivered. Furthermore, the 420 beds include 48 additional beds planned for delivery in Ennis Hospital, 42 for St. John’s Hospital and 24 for Nenagh Hospital. To progress option B, the HSE has acquired a 44-acre site in Raheen, just 2 km from UHL. This site provides a significant opportunity to provide meaningful additional capacity and health services to the people of the mid-west. The Minister visited Clare in the mid-west yesterday and met the public, patient advocates, healthcare professionals and public representatives from the region. The Minister has requested the HSE to deliver additional health services locally at Ennis, Nenagh and St. John’s hospitals where it is safe and appropriate to do so. The next step is to establish a project board to progress options B and C and develop a comprehensive strategic plan for the organisation of services and investment in the mid-west to ensure a balanced, sustainable and region-wide model of care. The Minister for Health is committed to advancing the establishment of the project board before the summer Dáil recess. I assure the Deputy, the people of the mid-west and all public representatives that the Government will continue to pursue all measures to increase capacity and improve service delivery at UHL and across the entire region. I will bring to the attention of the Minister the two points the Deputy brought up about the surgical hub and the MRIs.

Sentiment score: 0.29

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and the concerns raised by the UHL medical board. Like the Deputy, I am local TD in Limerick and I am fully aware of the concerns raised. The Government is fully committed to driving significant improvements to the health service at UHL and across the mid-west. As the Deputy stated, UHL is one of the busiest emergency departments in Ireland. Increasing levels of activity in 2026 have attendance up 11% in January to March compared to the same period in 2025. Despite these attendances and a related rise in waiting times, we have seen some improvement in compliance but there are too many instances of prolonged patient waiting times. There are too many people on trolleys. I accept that. It is a capacity issue, as the HIQA report stated. The Minister for Health and the Government are focused on increasing bed capacity. Staff numbers in UHL have grown by 50% since December 2019. As I stated, the Minister of Health has been advised by the HSE that recruitment of clinical front-line staff at UHL and throughout the region can continue as normal. That is an important point to make people aware of. More than 53,000 patients attended the three mid-west injury clinics - St. John's, Ennis and Nenagh hospitals - during 2025. Those clinics do great work. The acute virtual ward went live in UHL in July 2024. This has been scaled up to now provide 40 virtual beds, assisting in freeing up hospital capacity. The surgical hub is expected to be in operation by the end of the year, as the Deputy referenced. This will increase theatre capacity and reduce day cases and the low-complexity surgical waiting list in the region. It will make an enormous difference. The purchase of the 44-acre site at Raheen represents a significant milestone and provides an opportunity to plan for delivery of healthcare in Limerick and the region for current and future generations. Obviously, the Minister is committed to advancing the establishment of the project board before the summer recess. That project board will look at all aspects, including capacity and everything else that is required in the region. It will look at all aspects when it comes to options B and C. Option B is to look at additional capacity and the expansion of the UHL campus to include an additional adjacent site. Option C is to develop a model 3 hospital in the mid-west to provide a second emergency department. I concur with the Deputy that it is very difficult for patients coming to UHL with the waiting times and trolleys. I join with him in expressing gratitude to the staff in UHL and the entire region for the fantastic work they do. The Government and the Minister for Health are absolutely committed to ensure that we continue to provide further investment in required staff to meet capacity requirements for UHL, Limerick and the entire mid-west region in delivering health services.

Sentiment score: 0.18