Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
1054. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health when funding will be announced for phase II of the national rehabilitation hospital development on Rochestown Avenue, Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, under the HSE capital projects plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4383/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn 2024, the new National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) was officially opened by the then Taoiseach, Simon Harris. It comprises 120 single en-suite bedrooms with integrated rehabilitation-specific treatment and therapy spaces, representing an investment of €129 million by the State to accommodate the complex needs of patients requiring specialist rehabilitation services.
NRH has significant ambitions for further phases for its redevelopment and expansion that would see the relocation of all remaining therapies and support facilities to serve the new 120-bed hospital.
On 28 November 2025, the Minister for Health published the National Development Plan (NDP) Sectoral Plan for Health 2026–2030. The Sectoral Plan sets the strategic direction for health sector capital investment under the revised NDP allocation (2026–2030). Detailed plans, including individual projects and progress updates, will be published annually in the HSE Capital Plans.
Hospital campuses, including the NRH, require a clear, coherent master planning approach to sequencing and phased expansion. Development Control Plans (DCPs), shaped by clinically informed regional priorities, will enable the advancement of a pipeline of projects positioned for delivery.
The HSE is working closely with the NRH on the DCP for the campus to ensure future developments are aligned with Departmental and HSE priorities and represent a logical, deliverable and affordable plan to develop further infrastructure and services in an iterative way.
Initial Phase 2 options proposed are understood to be in excess of €200m and therefore must be subject to the full rigour of the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation’s Infrastructure Guidelines. A Strategic Assessment Report (SAR) for Phase 2 proposals, in compliance with the Infrastructure Guidelines, is currently being developed by the project team. The Department of Health has not yet received this proposal. Once the proposal moves through the required assurance steps within the HSE, it is expected that it will then be submitted to the Department for review.
