Hospital Services Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-26 ============================================================ Niall Collins (FF), Limerick County I thank the Senators for this opportunity to address the House on this important matter. St. Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny provides a range of important services including general surgery, maternity, emergency, paediatrics, hepatology and acute psychiatry. The hospital serves a significant population, including the people of counties Carlow and Kilkenny, as well as areas of counties Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford, Kildare and Laois. I acknowledge that the demand for healthcare services is increasing, due both to the development of new treatments and our ageing population. Considerable extra resources have been provided to increase the level of services at St. Luke’s General Hospital, Kilkenny. Notwithstanding the very difficult recruitment environment impacting the healthcare sector, staffing at the hospital has grown by 262 since the end of December 2020 - from 1,185 to 1,447 at the end of November 2025. This represents an increase in staffing of 22%. The HSE has also advised that St. Luke’s Hospital plans to progress consultant appointments to develop services, including rheumatology and neurology. These posts can be integrated with community services to provide the most appropriate care in the most convenient setting for the patients. The budget for St. Luke’s General Hospital has also increased significantly. In 2020, St. Luke’s General Hospital had a budget of €102.7 million. In 2025, the budget increased to €155.6 million, meaning its budget has grown by almost €53 million in five years, an increase of 51%. St. Luke's General Hospital has 260 inpatient beds and 25 day-case beds. Between 2020 and March 2025 30 beds have been delivered. The Acute Hospital Inpatient Bed Capacity Expansion Plan 2024-2031 aims to deliver 82 beds between March 2024 and 2031 for St. Luke’s General Hospital. There has been and continues to be significant capital investment in St. Luke’s hospital. Projects delivered to date include provision of a new MRI completed in 2022, a 72-bed replacement medical ward block completed in 2022, and the electrical infrastructure upgrade works completed in 2025. The HSE's capital plan 2026, including building and equipment, and the HSE digital for care capital plan published on 24 February 2026 outlines the investment in public health infrastructure over the coming five years. The plan demonstrates the Government’s commitment to improved services, increased productivity and strategic reform of our health service. It provides for capital funding of €1,327 million for building and equipment and €263 million for digital for care. Additional projects are being progressed in the HSE's capital plan 2026, published on 24 February 2026. These include refurbishment and extension of the existing mortuary, proposed new ward block development to include a critical care unit and a new 50-bed acute mental health unit. These developments show the Government’s commitment to the progressive development of St. Luke’s General Hospital, Kilkenny. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-26/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:42+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-26