Coombe relocation project to receive additional funding from Capital Investment Plan- Byrne

Fine Gael Dublin South Central, TD Catherine Byrne, has said that the relocation of the Coombe maternity hospital to the St. James’s hospital campus is to receive additional funding from the Government’s Capital Investment Plan.

“The Government has today (Tuesday) announced a €27 billion six year Capital Investment Plan to help with the ongoing work to secure the recovery, to restore all the jobs lost in the recession by 2018 and to get unemployment down to 6% by 2020.

“The Coombe relocation project is to benefit from additional funding as part of this investment plan.
Additional funding totalling €100 million is being provided across 2019 and 2020 to fund the relocation of the remaining two Dublin Maternity Hospitals, the Coombe to St. James’s Hospital and the Rotunda to Blanchardstown as well as the relocation of the Limerick Maternity Hospital to Dooradoyle.

“At a recent meeting of the Oireachtas Health Committee I had the opportunity to discuss the new National Children’s Hospital project with The Master of the Coombe, Dr Sharon Sheehan, and she was supportive of the moving of the Coombe to St James’. It makes perfect sense to collocate the children’s and maternity hospitals and will lead to better health outcomes for children.

“This is an affordable, responsible Capital Investment Plan which is consistent with the Government’s plan to eliminate Government borrowing by 2018. We will never go back to the bad old days of boom and bust. The days of Fianna Fail blank cheques are gone.

“The Capital Plan is also necessary to promote regional economic growth and create jobs, and the projects committed to are reliant on the choices made by this, and the next Government to continue the recovery. Fine Gael and Labour have proven that we can work together to deliver a strong economy. The decisions taken by this Government have brought us to an important time in our recovery which is still fragile and incomplete. We must continue to manage the national finances carefully or risk falling backwards.

“We are now the fastest growing economy in Europe and we are creating over 1,300 new jobs a week, yet we know that not every family has felt the benefits yet. This investment plan will help spread the recovery around the country so that every person and family can benefit and enjoy a better quality of life.”