asked the Minister for Health whether, in view of the urgent necessity for extra hospital accommodation in County Donegal, he will take immediate steps to expedite the commencement of work on the erection of the new county and district hospitals; and, further, if he will state (i) when work on the construction of these hospitals is likely to begin, and (ii) when (a) the county hospital, and (b) the district hospitals are likely to be completed.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Hospitals' Construction.
Mr. Blaney
The present position with regard to the planning of the Letterkenny Hospital and the District Hospitals at Carndonagh and Dungloe is as follows:—
A detailed schedule of accommodation for Letterkenny Hospital is under examination in my Department and I hope to be able to convey my comments on it to the local authority within the next week.
My comments on the detailed schedule of accommodation for Dungloe and Carndonagh Hospitals were sent to the local authority on the 22nd April, and subject to their agreement with these comments, they were asked to submit a diagrammatic sketch scheme for each of the hospitals.
As a considerable amount of work remains to be done in the planning of these three hospitals and the preparation of contract documents, it would be impossible at this stage to say when construction will start or when the hospitals will be completed. I can, however, assure the Deputy that, so far as my Department is concerned, every effort will be made to expedite the examination of proposals as they are submitted by the local authority.