17 projects at acute hospitals to receive more than €20m

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has said that 17 major hospital developments, each costing more than €20 million, will receive funding this year under the Government's €187 million capital investment programme in the acute sector.

In a breakdown of the total health service capital funding for the year released last night, the HSE also maintained that over 70 other intermediate projects, costing between €2 million and €20 million, in hospitals and in the community would receive funding this year as part of a separate €100 million investment package.

However, the Opposition claimed that only a small number of the intermediate projects would receive sufficient funding to bring them on stream next year and that most would only continue at design stage.

The HSE statement did not spell out how much funding would go towards each individual major or intermediate project. The HSE said that funding would be provided for a major new hospital to be built at Tullamore.

Funding will also be earmarked for phased developments at Mayo General, University College Hospital Galway, Ennis General Hospital, Mullingar General, Naas General as well as at St James's and Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Dublin. There will also be money for the long-planned amalgamation of maternity services in Cork on the site of Cork University Hospital.

According to the HSE, funding will also be provided for an equipping programme at St Vincent's hospital, Elm Park, and at Beaumont hospital in Dublin.

Funding will also be provided for the on-going redevelopment of the Mater hospital in Dublin, which will incorporate on the campus a new children's hospital to replace Temple Street.

In a statement last night the Mater hospital said the redevelopment would go ahead as planned even though the Department of Health has asked the HSE to carry out a review of paediatric services overall in Dublin.

The development of many of the major projects is expected to take several years to complete.

A spokesman for the HSE said that all would be funded as part of a multi-annual capital fund of over €500 million annually over the next five years. The spokesman said that the era of "stop/start" funding for healthcare capital projects was over and that it was hoped that each would be completed as quickly as possible.

The €98.7 million intermediate capital fund is expected to allow for the completion of a new renal unit in Sligo, new accident and emergency and X-ray facilities in Letterkenny, a 21-bed extension at Wexford and replacement radiotherapy equipment at Cork University Hospital.

There will also be funding for the fit-out of the controversial health centre in Ballymun and a new community hospital in Thurles.

However, Fine Gael health spokesman Dr Liam Twomey said last night that spreading €100 million across more than 70 projects would mean that while some areas would do well the majority would get very little and would merely continue in the planning process.