Capital Expenditure Programme
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-28
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Louis O'Hara (SF), Galway East

I want to focus on healthcare in the west because the masterplan for University Hospital Galway, UHG, and the redevelopment of the hospital is a critical project for our region to ensure that we have a modern, resilient, future proofed, model 4 hospital and to ensure that staff and patients get the facilities they deserve. It includes 300 new inpatient beds, a new emergency department, critical care, surgical theatres, a cancer centre, maternity and children services and much more. In recent weeks a design team was appointed for the 300 bed ward block at UHG. It is crucial that all of this is delivered in a timely manner but, unfortunately, people in Galway have little faith in the Government's ability to deliver on critical infrastructure. One just has to look at the ring road saga, which has dragged on for two decades, to understand why. They want assurances that the redevelopment of UHG will be progressed quickly and will not face delays. The Critical Infrastructure Bill has gone through this House. The Minister has indicated that certain projects will be fast tracked under that legislation. Will he give a commitment today that the UHG plans will be designated as critical infrastructure?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-28