Vol. 507 No. 2
157 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 240 of 15 June 1999, he will provide a full response on the formation of a project team to advance phase 2B of Mullingar General Hospital; the brief given to this team; the timescale for this team to report; and when work will commence on the fitting out of provision of an additional operating theatre and additional beds at this hospital. [16649/99]
Further to the information given to the Deputy on 15 June 1999, the position in relation to the development of phase 2B of Longford-Westmeath General Hospital, Mullingar, is as follows: the project team will be asked to prepare a written brief for the development of phase 2B. This is normal procedure in developments of this kind; the project team will be asked to complete its work without delay. The project team itself will have to consider a realistic timescale for the preparation of an agreed brief; and the timescale for commencing construction-fitting out work is not yet clear. This will depend on the agreed functional content of phase 2B, how long the planning and design stages take and on the availability of capital funding for the project.
