Hospital first phase receives go-ahead

Phase one of a new National Rehabilitation Hospital was given the go-ahead in Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, yesterday.

The new facility will be funded by the National Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation and the Health Service Executive.

Planning permission was granted for a 235-bed hospital as part of a master plan for the site in 2008. At the time, the cost was estimated at €200 million, but the development did not go ahead.

Phase one of that development was officially announced by Minister for Health James Reilly yesterday. The hospital is expected to be completed in three years.

The first phase of the development will include the construction of single rooms and some therapy facilities. Subject to additional funding, phase two of the scheme will involve the relocation of the remaining therapy and support services to the new development.

The hospital provides specialist rehabilitation services to patients throughout Ireland who have acquired a physical or cognitive disability.