On 29 November 2022, the Cabinet decided that Sarsfieldscourt would be the site of the new elective hospital in County Cork. More than two years have passed and we have still not seen the design plan for hospital. In addition, the planning application has not been submitted. The former Minister, Stephen Donnelly, was very much in favour of the development of elective hospitals, not just in Cork but also in other parts of the country. When are we going to see the plans for this elective hospital? When will a planning application will be submitted in order that we can go ahead with this project at Sarsfieldscourt?

I thank the Deputy for raising an important matter. As he will know, along with him and others, I have been a champion of an elective site being built on this site. I am also supportive of the project relating to an elective hospital for Galway. The HSE tends to have rather lengthy processes, particularly in terms of getting to the stage of tendering for a project of this scale. My understanding is that it is close at hand, but I will check for the Deputy to get an accurate timeline for the progression of this particular elective hospital.