Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 February 2026
482. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Health if a site has been identified yet for the new hospital in Limerick; If not, the timeframe; the proposed new Board to progress the project which been constituted yet; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15679/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis Government fully accepts and recognises the need to expand acute capacity in the Mid West.
In December 2025, Government gave its approval to progress with a blend of the proposed HIQA options necessary to respond to the challenges in the Mid West, to inform investment and to provide a short-, medium- and long-term view to how we plan for, and deliver, healthcare services for the people of the region.
The Minister will progress through all three options, A, B and C contained in the HIQA report, including development of a strategic plan to invest in services.
Option A, as presented by HIQA, is being progressed at pace, with 128 additional beds having already been delivered in the Mid West since 2023. All avenues are being explored to deploy additional bed capacity as soon as possible. Current plans to increase capacity at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) will deliver up to 306 beds by the end of 2029. With additional beds planned for other Model 2 Hospitals in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s, this would represent 420 additional beds in the region from 2024 to the end of the Acute Hospital Inpatient Bed Capacity Expansion Plan in 2031.
Other measures are also being advanced to cumulatively reduce pressure on UHL including: the development of a virtual ward with capacity for 40 virtual beds, additional residential care capacity and enhanced community and primary care services, further progression of integrated care across the Mid West, and the expansion of National Ambulance Services.
Option B recommends the extension of the UHL hospital campus to comprise the existing Dooradoyle site and another site, in proximity to UHL. The Minister has mandated the HSE to secure an available, appropriate adjacent site to the Dooradoyle campus. This is being progressed in line with HSE governance processes for property acquisitions in the usual way. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time due to the potential for an adverse effect on confidential and contractual negotiations that the HSE may have to enter into.
Option C represents a significant and long-term service and capital development. To progress Option C, the Minister and her officials will, taking into account the progress on Options A and B, establish a mechanism to appropriately and strategically assess this option in early 2026 to develop a comprehensive and strategic plan for the incremental strategy of organising services and investment in healthcare services in the Mid West. The scale of this plan relative to the needs and requirements of the rest of the country will require Government support as the pace will be relative to the scale of available Capital and Revenue investment funding.
These steps will inform plans for service and infrastructure capacity in the region that will be outlined in the subsequent Memorandum for Government to be brought in 2026.
