On behalf of myself and the Regional Group, I would like to wish the staff of Leinster House and the Ceann Comhairle a happy Christmas and new year.

Just over a year ago, as a political outsider, I stood outside Leinster House with Hand on Heart campaigners. We delivered thousands of petitions to the Tánaiste's then office as Taoiseach on the funding issues around University Hospital Waterford, most especially the lack of 24-7 cardiac care for the south-east region. The problems in service delivery at University Hospital Waterford predate Covid-19. We continue to have some of the longest waiting lists in the country for all types of services, including: magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, scans; computed tomography, CT, scans; mammograms; endoscopies; ear nose and throat, ENT, treatment; orthopaedics; and ophthalmology.

When we ask the HSE for progress, it delivers us process. I mention the mortuary build of 2015, which the Tánaiste is well aware of. It has taken four calendar years to award a build tender of €5 million for a second cath lab. It is six years into the South/South West hospital group structure and still there is no move on bringing the Kilcreene Orthopaedic Hospital activity into University Hospital Waterford, as promised. It has taken us nine months to re-enact a three-day diagnostic angiogram list on site. We look at the national children's hospital spend of €2 billion. We look at the recent announcement in Cork of €70 million in imminent planning for a second children's hospital. We look at our Dunmore wing, which was completed in April 2018 but had no service budget applied until Covid-19 arrived. The palliative care services there, which were part-funded by Waterford Hospice, only received a grant of funding in recent weeks.

In line with recent trends, the HSE announced 12 new consultant appointment positions for University Hospital Waterford but they are not on www.publicjobs.ie nor have they been approved by the consultant appointments committee. In other words, they are not coming for at least another 12 to 24 months. This is more process with no progress.

The present cardiac services remain the most toxic health issue for the south-east region. The hospital is planning to engage a phased introduction of a seven-day 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. cath lab service. This will basically give us 50% cover per working week. Last year, I spoke about people like Thomas Power, Una McDermott and Thomas Frisby, who could not access the cath lab on a weekend and died. Thomas Frisby's family has three healthcare workers and one of his siblings required access to the cath lab in the past ten days. They asked the question, which I ask of the Tánaiste, when will we see equality in the south east for 24-7 cardiac care?

We have heard major discussion this year on locking down the country to protect life. We have heard major discussion on equality for Ireland and for its people. On behalf of the Government, will the Tánaiste give a commitment to politically deliver increased funding to University Hospital Waterford and to deliver 24-7 cardiac care equality to the south east? We do not want any more reviews, procrastination or process in place of progress.

I know this issue has been a contentious one and is a matter of real importance to the people of Waterford and of the south east more broadly and has been for a long time. The programme for Government commits to the provision of a second cath lab in University Hospital Waterford. As set out in the HSE's options appraisal, the preferred option for a second cath lab and associated 12-day ward providing six additional beds, is on the roof of the existing cardiology department in Waterford. I know from working with Government Deputies in the county that the ultimate ambition is to achieve 24-7 primary percutaneous coronary intervention, PCI, cover if that is viable. The second cath lab is a major and significant step towards doing exactly that.

Funding was allocated in the capital plan for the provision of a second cath lab at University Hospital Waterford. Planning permission was received from Waterford City and County Council in January of this year. The disability access certificate was granted in April and the fire certificate was granted in June. Preparation of contract documentation commenced and contractor selection is complete, subject to a cooling-off period. The project went to tender on 30 September. The tender process being used is a two-stage process, which normally takes about four months to complete. Tenders for the main contractor were received on 24 November, while tenders for the mechanical and electrical subcontractors are due on 21 December. The works at the new cath lab are due to commence in the first quarter of the new year. It is expected that it will take about 12 months to build and then it is anticipated that it can be commissioned and opened and operating in the first half of 2022.

As I said, the Taoiseach said in recent days that this was not a resourcing issue but that this was to do with academic allegiances, reviews and all of that. I am saying to the Tánaiste that this is a political issue. We have six cardiac rescue centres in the country, two of them in Dublin. The only one to serve the 600,000 people of the south east is constrained to a 39-hour working week.

Sometime next year in a phased operation we will get to seven days, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. This is not good enough in the Ireland of 2020. As I said, we are expending huge amounts of resources to try to support people through Covid. The cost of a 24-7 service in UHW is estimated to be in the order of €3 million per annum. I am asking the Tánaiste to set aside reviews, to assuage the concerns of those people who live every night with vulnerability because of underlying issues and to deliver health equality for the south east.

As the Deputy will be aware, the trend across the world when it comes to specialty services, such as complex cancer surgery or primary PCI, is to reduce the number of centres in order to have a smaller number of centres with a large number of staff able to sustain a 24-7 rota permanently, and a large patient load to achieve a certain level of standard. The Deputy mentions that there are two centres in Dublin. There were three centres. We went from three centres in Dublin down to two, and those two centres cover a population of probably 2 million people, all the way from the Border with Northern Ireland down to Kilkenny and north Wexford. It is roughly one centre per 1 million people. I appreciate that the Galway and Limerick centres cover a smaller population. Those are always the things that have to be borne in mind.

As I say, the first step to improving cardiac services in Waterford, which we want to do, is to build the second cath lab, which is long overdue. I understand the frustration in this regard. That will be under construction next year. It should be open and up and running the year after, and will allow us to extend the hours of that service, not only for Waterford but for the whole region.