I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I know he has been a long-time advocate for health services in the Limerick region, in particular in light of the huge challenges that have faced acute services in the mid-west. I join him in paying tribute to all the staff working in our hospitals in the mid-west under difficult circumstances. The Government's decision to support the Minister's memo that was brought to Government this week in respect of the HIQA report and HIQA review into urgent and emergency care capacity in the mid-west region, which the previous Government asked for, will need additional capital. Additional capital will be provided, in the first instance to progress option A. What is interesting is we know that the impacts can be quite dramatic when we get additional capacity. The average number of people waiting on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick has almost halved in the week since the new 96-bed block opened compared with the weeks prior. That 96-bed block that is now open has made a difference, so we want to do a second block at that scale. The sooner that can be done, the better. Enabling works are now under way for the second 96-bed block at UHL. Additional 16- and 66-bed blocks are also in planning for accelerated delivery at the hospital. That will increase capacity at UHL by a total of 306 beds since 2023. On option B, the Minister has mandated the HSE to secure an available appropriate adjacent site. I do not have the information to hand as to whether it has that site at the moment, but it has the mandate to secure the site. The standard governance structure and the project board will have to be established, as required by the HSE, to explore additional opportunities to decant services away from the main Dooradoyle site. My understanding is the project board has not yet been established, but it will be imminently, once we get the other site. What is happening in other hospital locations is that decanting unnecessary services in an acute hospital environment - including patient records, or it could be outpatients - is working. I have seen it at the Rotunda and other hospitals, where it has had a really transformative impact and created huge space for the essence of what acute care should be all about. To progress option C, the Minister and the Department will develop a strategic plan for the incremental reconfiguration of and investment in healthcare services in the mid-west region. I heard it said this morning, and I do not want to name people, that this is a very welcome development. I take the Deputy's point about timescale and capital. Subject to the revenues the economy is generating at the moment, we will have an expansive healthcare capital programme over the next number of years. I am confident we can accommodate substantive elements of this in the coming years.

Sentiment score: 0.21

On the ambulances, we want to continue to improve and revamp our ambulance service. It is a national service. It causes a lot of challenges for the public and people generally in trying to understand the methodology or framework governing it. We will continue to engage with the National Ambulance Service, particularly in respect of its manifestation and how it works in the Limerick region. The issue of critical infrastructure and the initiatives of the Minister, Deputy Chambers, will impact on this because the esprit de corps now is not why something can happen but, rather, why it should happen. There have been planning challenges on that site and, probably, there will remain planning challenges in people having different perspectives on it. The Deputy referenced what would be known as the public spending code, and that is being amended. Of course, on another day, people will come to the House and say we spent too much on this or that. All of that means others want to develop the public spending code. There is always a balance here in getting projects through and getting them done, and turning up at the public accounts committee afterwards to explain the additional expenditure, but that is the world we are in.

Sentiment score: 0.13