I call Deputy Cahill now, please.

The HSE made a decision this week to postpone the opening of a community hospital in Nenagh and to use it in the immediate future as a step-down facility for University Hospital Limerick, UHL. I can understand the basis of the decision as I have spoken here many times about the huge pressure UHL is under. There is a significant waiting list for the community hospital in Nenagh. I ask two things. First, to ease the concerns of those who are expecting the community hospital to open this spring, I ask that the HSE guarantee that within the next 12 months, the community hospital will open in Nenagh as a community hospital. Second, this clearly demonstrates the need for a modular step-down unit in Nenagh to keep the pressure off UHL. The capital funding for a 50-bed modular unit should be allocated for that. We have a new 96-bed unit coming on stream in UHL. We will not have all of that number of 96 new beds, so Ennis and Nenagh need this investment to finally cure the chronic situation we have in UHL.

I am aware of the issues and I have spoken to the Minister for Health generally in respect of the recruitment issues to see if a resolution can be found more expeditiously on that. I will speak to the Minister again. A very significant investment has been made in Nenagh in respect of the community nursing unit where, I believe, up to €20 million has been allocated to it under the community nursing unit programme. In my view, there can be various debates around this. When we start out with a new community nursing unit if there are no existing staff, one needs additional staff to fully open it up. My own view is that some resolution in the interim should be arrived at. What is being provided on an interim basis is to do with UHL but the unit has been built for a reason as a community nursing unit and I will talk to the Minister again on the issue.