Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 February 2026
276. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Health if she will clarify the current status of the elective hospitals proposed for Cork and Dublin; and whether standalone elective hospitals will still be developed at both locations, with bed capacity, as originally envisaged under the National Elective Care Programme (details supplied); if she will provide an estimated timeline for the works; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15498/26]
View answerThe government is fully committed to increasing elective-only day-case capacity through the Elective Ambulatory Care Programme, in line with the 2017 Sláintecare Report. The government’s commitment to delivering this has been set out in successive Sláintecare Implementation Strategies and Action plans in 2018, 2021 and 2025, the National Elective Care Ambulatory Strategy of December 2021, and the Programme Preliminary Business Case (PBC) and project PBCs for Galway and Cork approved in December 2022, all of which have proposed elective day-case only facilities in Galway, Cork and Dublin.
The elective strategy agreed by Government in 2022 is being delivered in two phases: a national network of Surgical Hubs in the first instance to meet medium-term demand and capacity, and then, a national network of Elective Treatment Centres, known as Elective Hospitals, in Galway, Cork and Dublin. There has been no decision to limit or change the scope or ambition of these elective facilities. The 2022 preliminary business case (PBC) for the elective care programme proposed a phased approach to the development of the Elective Hospitals. The first phase (which was the focus of the PBCs and has been the HSE’s work to date) included day cases only. As per the Government decision of 2022, the sites identified for these facilities have sufficient capacity for future growth and reconfiguration to facilitate potential future phases, including some elective in-patient capacity, if required.
Elective care does not require the same facilities as acute hospitals. These new ‘elective-only’ facilities are for day-case patients, they are not for acute or emergency care. Significant international evidence supports the separation of scheduled (elective) and non-scheduled (emergency) care, leading to improved care for all patients. These elective facilities will provide routine treatments, procedures and consultations which have been scheduled in advance for non-emergency issues and which do not require an overnight stay. There are no in-patient beds; instead, patients arrive and leave on the same day. Patients move in a single, one-way direction from registration to pre-admission, to the operating theatre, to state 1 recovery and/or stage 2 recovery bays as appropriate, from where they are discharged.
The design phase for the Elective Hospital in Cork is ongoing, and plans will be refined based on the evidence and data available in relation to demand and capacity, as required by the Infrastructure Guidelines. The HSE is working through these plans at the moment, with an expectation that a planning application for Cork can be submitted later this year.
In relation to Dublin, demand modelling is currently underway, to ensure that we can meet our longer-term elective care capacity requirements. The modelling includes an assessment of current capacity/infrastructure and how it can be best utilised to meet future needs. On conclusion of this demand modelling work, the Preliminary Business Case for Dublin will be finalised.
