Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 February 2026
251. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Health the role her Department played in the decision to reverse plans for an elective hospital in Merlin Park in Galway City; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15347/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra252. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Health the reasons for the decision to reverse plans for an elective hospital in Merlin Park in Galway City; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15348/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 251 and 252 together.
The 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.
There has been no such decision as suggested by the Deputy. Whilst there had been a scoping paper prepared for the Saolta Group in 2019 for an elective hospital at Merlin Park, this was superseded by the elective strategy agreed by Government in 2022 and which is being delivered in two phases: a national network of Surgical Hubs in the first instance to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 including the project business case for Galway. 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.
The design phase for the Elective Treatment Centres, known as Elective Hospitals, 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 and its appointed design team are working through these plans at the moment, with an expectation that a planning application can be submitted in the middle of this year.
