I propose to take Questions Nos. 744 and 780 together.
It is Department of Health policy that there must be sufficient inpatient beds available nationally to treat all people with Cystic Fibrosis who require hospitalisation in single en-suite rooms. Therefore I welcome the new Nutley Wing seven-storey development at St. Vincent's University Hospital, of which two floors will contain a dedicated Cystic Fibrosis unit.
The draft protocol for CF patients bed numbers has been agreed. In this regard, 20 single en suite rooms in the new wing will be dedicated for inpatient Cystic Fibrosis care and a further 10 single en suite rooms dedicated for day case Cystic Fibrosis care. The number of Cystic Fibrosis in-patients at St Vincent's University Hospital is expected to vary between 20 and 34. In this respect, 20 inpatient beds are a minimum and not a maximum, and the number of beds with appropriately trained staff can accommodate up to 34 in-patients. When the beds are not required for Cystic Fibrosis they will be used for other in-patients with a clearly agreed protocol that there will always be beds available for patients with Cystic Fibrosis who require admission. St. Vincent's University Hospital is currently equipping the facility and that it will become operational on a phased basis between now and September, with the first transfer of inpatients expected to commence at the end of July or early August.