The process involved in getting approval for major hospital developments is both contracted and convoluted and includes multiple stages, many times with significant delays at each stage. The reality is these delays make it very difficult to provide good quality services because of overcrowding and inadequate buildings. The second factor often overlooked is that, with building inflation costs running at a high level, the longer the delays, the more it costs the taxpayer and the less we get in results. What steps is the Government taking to reduce the whole process and streamline it so that we actually get things built in this country rather than talking about and planning them forever?

We discussed this at the Cabinet subcommittee on health on Monday, trying to figure out and carry out a review into how we might be able to speed up capital development in the health sector. The Deputy will be painfully aware that the development of an emergency department and of maternity and paediatric services in University Hospital Galway seem to be going on forever, which is extremely frustrating. There are similar examples in other parts of the country. However, there is a balance to be struck. Anything that is done more quickly with less review and scrutiny is more likely to go wrong, and we have seen this happen in other health projects. We are carrying out a review into the public spending code and whether we can reduce the number of steps and hoops a project has to get through to be built. I understand the Deputy's point that delays cost money.