Approval was given by the Board of the HSE in July 2011 to relocate the Munster Regional Transfusion Centre to a site at Cork University Hospital. This followed a decision in December 2008 to replace the current facility, with the allocation of capital funding for this purpose. The Programme for Government provided for a Comprehensive Spending Review which is now well under way. This exercise includes a review of the planned health care capital programme. The outcomes of this review will determine the health care capital allocations for 2012 and future years.
The Irish Medicines Board reports annually to me on the results of its inspections of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service. In its 2010 Report the Irish Medicines Board has stated that, in its opinion, the provision of a purpose built facility is the only resolution that can ensure compliance of the Munster Regional Transfusion Centre with modern requirements of a transfusion service, which are in keeping with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). I am aware that some administrative/medical staff have recently been relocated to more modern office space and this has no implications for product safety.