What is the Government's view on the suggestion which has been widely canvassed that an elective-only hospital be established in the mid-western area? The reason for that, which we all witness every day, is the chronic shortages and overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick which is always at or near the top of the trolley count. On a few occasions recently, it ran out of trolleys, which is indefensible. The simple reality is that the medical facilities in the region are insufficient to cater for its population. We do not have enough beds.

I have sympathy for what the Deputy said. The Sláintecare report identified three elective hospitals in Galway, Dublin and Cork. There is merit in an elective-only facility in the mid-west to free up the hospital for trauma and other tertiary treatments. It is the way to go.