The integrated design team for a 300-bed block project for University Hospital Galway was appointed and approved last May. Ward blocks A and B, each comprising of 150 beds, are the first two phases of the capital programme for University Hospital Galway, which will be followed by a cancer centre, new laboratories, a permanent helipad and a new emergency department. What engagement has the Minister had with the HSE, the Saolta University Health Care Group, and the regional executive officer, REO, of HSE West and North West on the designation of blocks A and B, or initially block A, under the Critical Infrastructure Act 2026 or are we at an advanced enough stage to designate the project if another designation list goes to Cabinet this year?

I thank the Deputy for his repeated advocacy on behalf of University Hospital Galway and the master plan to develop this over some period. I also thank him for facilitating a meeting recently between myself and Cancer Care West to be able to discuss some of the detail of that.

With regard to critical infrastructure designations, there is more work to be done by the project team and hospital, but it is exactly the kind of project we would like to see included in critical infrastructure processes. The hospital has to get to a further stage of the business case and planning application preparation to reach that point, but I will be an enthusiastic supporter of it then.