I propose to take Questions Nos. 496 to 500, inclusive, together.
The co-location programme is aimed at freeing up public acute hospital capacity for use for public patients and to enhance overall acute capacity at public hospital sites. It envisages that the private sector will finance and operate private bed capacity and, also, that there will be a substantial degree of co-operation and innovation by public and private managements working together at each site.
The Renewed Programme for Government re-affirms the Government's commitment to the current co-location programme. The procurement process which is underway will continue. Projects will be operated within the terms of those project agreements in place that are signed or may be signed. Value for public money criteria remain in place and are to be met by each project.
Progress has been made in advancing individual co-location projects. The Board of the HSE has approved preferred bidder status for the development of co-located hospitals at Beaumont, Cork University, the Mid-Western Regional Limerick, St. James's, Sligo General, and Waterford Regional Hospitals, and project agreements for the ventures at Beaumont, Cork, Limerick and St. James's have already been signed. Each co-location project is subject to a 65-year lease.
Planning permission has been granted for the Beaumont, Cork University and Mid-Western Regional Limerick Hospitals projects. A planning application in respect of St James's Hospital has been lodged with the local authority. The necessary preparatory work for the project agreements in respect of Waterford Regional and Sligo General Hospitals is proceeding. When completed, the planned capacity of these facilities will be as follows:
Hospital
|
Number of in-patient beds
|
Number of day beds
|
Beaumont
|
170
|
54
|
Cork University
|
175
|
66
|
M-W Regional Limerick
|
150
|
62
|
St James’s
|
168
|
72
|
Sligo General
|
92
|
25
|
Waterford Regional
|
140
|
77
|
These bed figures are exclusive of critical care beds — which will be provided in proportion to the in-patient capacity in each hospital.
In addition to the hospitals to which I have already referred, two further projects at Connolly and Tallaght Hospitals are at earlier stages of the procurement process.
The Finance Act 2009 provides that the schemes of capital allowances for private hospitals and certain other health facilities will be terminated, subject to transitional arrangements for projects already in development, including the requirement that planning permission must be applied for by the end of 2009. This applies to all private hospital developments. Provided that a private hospital project — and this includes co-located hospitals — conforms to the requirements of these transitional arrangements, and otherwise satisfies the general requirements of the scheme of capital allowances, the tax relief will apply. The value of the tax relief in each case will depend on the level of qualifying capital expenditure involved.