I have raised a number of times over the years the capacity issues faced by University Hospital Limerick. The huge number of people on trolleys remains unacceptably high. One of the impacts of that is the number of outpatients waiting excessive amounts of time for appointments: 3,244 people have been on outpatient waiting lists for more than 12 months, with 981 of those waiting over 18 months for an appointment.

Something that could be done to reduce these numbers is the opening of the new surgical hub at the site of the old Scoil Carmel. That was scheduled to open this month but has now been delayed until the end of the year. Not only is it being delayed, but it will now receive only 50% of the funding it requires to operate properly, making it difficult to complete the 20,000 annual procedures that had been planned for. I welcome the new surgical hub regardless of whether it is delayed, but why is the funding being cut when the Government is fully aware of the crisis in emergency care at University Hospital Limerick?

Overall, funding is increasing in health and continues to increase dramatically and exponentially, certainly for the past five years.

The Government has cut it.

The Limerick surgical hub is expected to be operational in quarter 4 of this year. Medical assessment units are extending services. Opening hours have been extended from 8 a.m. until midnight in Ennis and Nenagh hospitals. Overall, significant progress is being made in the HSE Mid West region on both waiting lists and waiting times. Compared to December 2021, the April 2026 total waiting list in HSE Mid West has reduced by 12%. The average length of time that patients on lists have been waiting has also reduced from 15 months to 6.3 months in the same period. There are challenges but increased capacity will help. As we discussed earlier, the contract has been signed for the next 90-bed block.

Yes, but the Government is opening a new hub that-----