HSE Capital Plan receives warm welcome
A “transformative” investment of almost €104 million has been pledged to Cork as part of the HSE’s Capital Plan for 2025.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD approved the publication of the plan yesterday with a record €1.33 billion to be made available for the construction and equipping of healthcare facilities in Ireland this year.
Welcoming the announcement on Leeside was Cork North Central TD Colm Burke who said: “This is welcome news that will help better meet the needs of patients and families across Cork.”
Deputy Burke highlighted a number of projects in Cork that will receive funding through the capital plan, including €7.25 million for Mallow General Hospital, €4 million for a neurorehabilitation unit in Blarney; over €70 million for capital projects in CUH; and €3.3 million for MUH.
Also commenting was Cork Fine Gael TD, John Paul O’Shea who said: “This is very welcome news for Cork that will help advance the healthcare experience throughout the county and bring healthcare services closer to home which better meets the need of patients and families across Cork city and county."
The Department of Health hopes that investment in 2025 will enable the progression of Government priority projects, including the completion of the new children's hospital, progress construction of the National Maternity Hospital, continued delivery of additional bed capacity under the Acute Hospital Inpatient Bed Capacity Expansion Plan 2024-2031, and construction of new surgical hubs and elective care centres.
It is also geared to facilitate the development of infrastructure to support mental health service delivery, the delivery of more primary care centres, HIQA Community Nursing Unit programme and community-based infrastructure to help ensure people can access appropriate care closer to home.
Health Minister Carroll MacNeill said: “This plan continues the delivery of vital healthcare projects across the country and supports the expansion of capacity and reform in how we deliver care. The scale of investment reflected in this plan underlines the Government’s focus on strengthening healthcare infrastructure and progressing toward universal, community-based care.”