Fianna Fail desperate bid for headlines in thriving West Cork – Daly

Fine Gael TD and Minister of State at the Department of Health, Jim Daly has said the ongoing negativity by Fianna Fail in relation to West Cork’s community hospitals “is desperation to make headlines in a region that is a hive of activity as a result of government investment”.

“The facts are when Fianna Fail was in office, over the past number of decades, they entirely neglected community healthcare facilities in West Cork. They never sanctioned any funding for major extensions or redevelopment of these cherished assets. They also presided over bed reductions and ward closures when they were last in office,” Minister Daly said.

“In contrast to this, Fine Gael has provided funding to extend, upgrade and modernise all community hospitals in West Cork, and has also recently approved a €10m development of Bantry General Hospital, which is the only acute hospital in the region.

“To see Fianna Fail trying to take a swipe at Government because these projects, that total nearly €35m of investment, are running behind schedule by a few months is regrettable and petty.

“I want to assure the people of West Cork that proposals for the following community hospitals are well advanced, some are completed, and more have started construction. Crucially the funding is secured for all projects.

• A full new build for Bandon Community Hospital providing 25 beds at a cost of €3.5m is completed.
• The 40 bed St Anne’s Skibbereen Unit is currently under construction and will provide 12 new single en-suite rooms with a full refurbishment of all other wards. It is on target to be completed by next September at a cost of €3.7m.
• The €1.1m works to Dunmanway’s 23 bed St Anthony’s unit are focused on dining, living and recreational areas and are due to be completed next February.
• Kinsale Community Hospital received €1.2m four years ago for lifts, fire escapes and a number of single rooms, and now has received planning permission for full refurbishment of all other rooms at an estimated cost of €5m. This project will go to tender for construction early in the New Year.
• A €2.7m extension and full renovation to the 30 bed St Joseph’s unit at Castletownbere, to include single rooms, palliative care suites and recreational spaces, is currently under construction and will be completed next August or September.
• Finally in my home town of Clonakilty, we have just received planning permission for a €6m hospital redevelopment. This project will go to tender before the end of the year with diggers on site early in 2020. This of course follows the recent opening of a very busy transitional care unit on the complex which has proved an enormous success for the people of West Cork.

“Fianna Fail and others would be better off focusing on solution led initiatives that will benefit West Cork people, rather than cribbing about a two-month delay of constructing community facilities that they neglected for two decades when they were in power,” Minister Daly said