asked the Minister for Health the up-to-date position in relation to his proposals for the voluntary hospitals in Cork.

Proposals for the integration of the services of the South Infirmary and Victoria Hospitals were agreed by these two hospitals and have been approved by me. Their implementation on a phased basis has now commenced.

A working group representative of my Department, the Mercy Hospital and the North Infirmary have now finalised their report on the integration of services between the two hospitals and this report is at present being considered.

Discussions will commence in the near future with the Cork Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital and the transfer of that hospital's services and a project team will be established within the next month to plan a new opthalmic outpatients department at Cork Regional Hospital.

Will the Minister assure the people living on the north side of Cork city who have been served for generations by the North Infirmary that the proposals will not lead to a diminution of the services?

I can assure the Deputy that the outstanding work in my Department in the last three years in which I was involved in relation to Cork city and its hospital services will continue. The latest report on developments between the Mercy Hospital and the North Infirmary has just been issued and I have no doubt that its proposals will be to the benefit of all people living in Cork city, particularly those living in the Deputy's constituency.

I acknowledge that the merging of the South Infirmary with the Victoria Hospital does not present any great difficulty in that all that is required is the provision of an entrance in the boundary wall between the two hospitals, but I should like an assurance from the Minister that the proposal to merge or integrate the Mercy Hospital with the North Infirmary, because of the location of those hospitals, is a practical proposition. Will the Minister agree that that proposal is not a practical realisation of the intentions, some of which are pious, and that the physical location of the hospitals may mean that there will be a danger of a diminution of services and facilities provided by the North Infirmary for the people on the north side of the River Lee?

When a person is sick in Cork city the location of the hospital is of secondary importance; it is the health of the person that matters most. Whether people receive attention on one side of the River Lee or the other is irrelevant. I should like to assure the Deputy that the people on the north side of the city will have outstanding services. The work of bringing together the voluntary hospitals and the specialities is almost complete and the people in the areas involved will receive a much better service in future. The report is under consideration but I am not in a position to disclose its details because I must meet the boards and local public representatives before I make a decision.