I wish to advise the Deputy that there are currently 6 staff from my Department working with the European Union in Brussels, in addition to 2 Central Bank of Ireland staff who are currently seconded to the Department of Finance working with the European Union.

4 staff are based in the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union (Perm Rep), whose roles and position are as follows:

Counsellor - Principal Officer (PO)

Fiscal Attaché - Assistant Principal (AP)

Budget Attaché - Assistant Principal (AP)

Financial Services Attaché - Assistant Principal (AP)

There are currently no vacant positions in the Perm Rep.

A further 4 staff are based in the European Commission as Seconded National Experts (SNEs):

DG ECFIN - Assistant Principal (AP)

DG FISMA - Assistant Principal (AP)

DG FISMA - CBI secondee

DG FISMA - CBI secondee

On 23 June 2016, there were 5 staff based in the Perm Rep:

Counsellor - Principal Officer (PO)

Budget Attaché - Assistant Principal (AP)

Financial Services Attaché- Assistant Principal (AP)

Financial Services Attaché - Assistant Principal (AP) IGEES

Fiscal Attaché – Administrative Officer (AO)

A further 3 staff were working in the European Commission and European Parliament as SNEs:

DG Economic and Financial Affairs - Assistant Principal (AP)

DG TAXUD - Assistant Principal (AP)

ECON European Parliament – Higher Executive Office (HEO)

Roughly 250 women travel abroad for abortions every year. They do so for many different reasons, which are detailed and explained in the report. Like I said, the report will be published tomorrow. People will have a chance to read it, and it is being referred to the Joint Committee on Health for further consideration.

Overcrowding at Wexford General Hospital during the final months of 2022 and early this year meant that the hospital was completely overrun. The people of County Wexford were asked on several occasions to avoid attending the emergency department unless it was a life-or-death situation. Some patients who presented at the emergency department waited up to 30 hours if a bed was required. People's lives were put at risk. Capacity is now crucial to the hospital and the ever-growing population of County Wexford, which is now in excess of 164,000. Will the Taoiseach confirm that the proposed project for a 97-bed medical ward block for Wexford General Hospital will be given the green light without further delay and that it will commence as soon as possible after the completion of repairs to the hospital following the damage caused by the recent fire?

I have had several conversations with the team at Wexford General Hospital, Government colleagues and the Deputy about the need for the block. It is a project that I support. The capital plan will be published soon. This will contain details of bed projects across the country. We will wait for that for the details.

I wish to ask about St. Patrick's Hospital in Cashel, a wonderful institution that has been there for hundreds of years. The community, public representatives and everybody else were promised that a 60-bed community hospital would be built on the site. It is a listed building. There were 350 patients and staff at the hospital, and there was plenty of room to park. Now, the HSE has come up with another dúirt-bean-liom-go-ndúirt-bean-léi story in that there is no longer room for car parking at the hospital. I want a commitment from the Government that the 60-bed unit will go ahead and that Cashel will not lose out again, as it did in the 1980s under a Fine Gael-led Government. It is vital that this 60-bed community unit is built. There should be no subterfuge or hiding. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has made certain noises lately. There is major concern and angst in County Tipperary about this matter. It must be sorted out and the commitments that were made must be honoured. Promises were made, and they must be honoured. We are all expecting the project to proceed. The staff, the public and all of those involved - above all, patients and their families - deserve it.

The Minister and I are committed to the development of a new community nursing unit for older persons in Cashel. As the Deputy is aware, a community nursing unit and a ten-bed crisis house for mental health are already under construction in Clonmel. The HSE has advised that the existing hospital site is not suitable for the new 60-bed community nursing unit.

It has also advised that the site is very limited in size. Challenges with the amount of parking space and access to the building have been identified. I reassure the Deputy that a site in Cashel town is being reviewed. The Deputy, who is a businessman, will know that these transactions are commercially sensitive and cannot be discussed while under investigation.

We will have plenty of space where we are.

The development has been included in the capital plan since last year and will go ahead.

Then build it where it should be.