asked the Minister for Health if he will consider establishing a small district hospital at Gort, County Galway.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Gort Hospital.
As the Deputy will be aware from statements which I have made in the House, I have decided, in order to make rapid progress with the hospital projects most urgently needed, to proceed with a limited short-term programme of building work for completion in seven years. It would defeat the whole purpose of this scheme if the programme were to be overloaded by the addition of many projects which must rank as being less urgent. For that reason I would not be prepared to approve of the building of a district hospital at Gort in the immediate future. When the short term programme is nearing completion the whole position will be reviewed and the claims of districts such as Gort will be fully considered.
I should like to add that with the building of the new regional hospital in Galway, for which a contract should be placed in the next week or so, the people of Gort will have hospital facilities within convenient distance.