I propose to take Questions Nos. 129, 623, 624 and 787 together.
The new emergency department and women and children’s unit at University Hospital Galway, is a project part of a larger development incorporating maternity and paediatric services, is included in the HSE Capital Programme.
The main Emergency Department, Women’s and Children’s development at University Hospital Galway is a complex project and is in the early stages of design progression. In order to provide additional capacity, including new infection prevention and control measures, approval was granted to complete a temporary extension to the Emergency Department (ED). This includes segregated waiting areas, segregated treatment areas, isolation rooms, additional resuscitation spaces and additional support accommodation to take account of requirements to treat Covid-19 patients and improved Infection Control and Prevention requirements for the ED.
This Temporary ED extension building will be a single storey, with a rooftop plant room and will be connected to the main hospital block at the existing ED entrance. This project is expected to be completed in early 2022. The Temporary ED project and associate works will also serve as an enabling works project for the proposed new permanent ED and free up the site required for the proposed new unit.
The main ED, Women’s and Children’s development at University Hospital Galway is a project is of significant scale and must progress through the stages outlined in the public spending code (PSC). The full accommodation scope for the entire development has been agreed following an internal HSE review and the HSE propose to progress the full block as one single project.
There is no date set yet for the planning application for the main building as the project is still proceeding through the stages of the PSC. There are several enabling works projects to be completed on site before the main building can go ahead. The Design Team has had pre-planning meetings with the Local Authority on two of these enabling works projects. The preliminary business case is currently under review with the HSE and pending Board approval. The HSE expect to be able to submit the preliminary business case to my Department in Q1 2022 for technical review in line with PSC requirements.
The PSC is designed to ensure that investment decisions are underpinned by a clear policy rationale, and that costs are well understood. In 2019, the PSC was updated and introduced a new project lifecycle, tightening the arrangements for project decision-making, and clarifying the roles of the parties involved including the responsibilities for Sponsoring Agencies and Approving Authorities.
All capital development proposals must progress through several approval stages, in line with the new lifecycle approach of the updated PSC, including detailed appraisal, planning, design and procurement before a firm timeline or funding requirement can be established.
