FG senator challenges minister on co-location

FORMER health minister Micheál Martin was challenged last night to find an alternative site for one of the state’s first co-located hospitals.

Cork Fine Gael Senator Jerry Buttimer threw down the gauntlet after Enterprise Minister Martin told residents that a proposed €250 million 185-bed co-location hospital on the grounds of Cork University Hospital was “not sustainable”.

Mr Buttimer said Mr Martin cannot support the Government’s co-location policy while at the same time telling residents that this facility should not be built at the hospital.

“I would challenge Mr Martin and his fellow government ministers to come up with an alternative site if they are so gung-ho about co-location,” he said.

The development came as the Beacon Medical Group, the consortium behind the project, moved swiftly to counter growing public opposition.

Up to 100 people pledged to object to the project at a public meeting on Monday.

They cited concerns about the scale and density of the five-storey building on an already over-crowded medical campus, its visual impact on neighbouring estates and its impact on traffic.

But the Beacon group released a statement yesterday dismissing local concerns.

The traffic generated by the co-located facility is as follows, it said:

n140 arrivals and 40 departures (8-9am), and 79 arrivals and 108 departures (5-6pm).

“This is compared with the existing traffic generated by CUH during the same hour when the cardio/renal unit is completed which equates to 991 arrivals and 402 departures (8-9am), and 263 arrivals and 677 departures (5-6pm),” it said.

And in a move that is likely to enrage locals, the group also said:

School runs generate far more traffic during peak hours than the proposed co-located hospital.

The timescale for delivery of flyovers on the Sarsfield Road and Bandon Road roundabouts should not dictate the development of the co-located hospital.

Most of the hospital’s 500 staff will not have car parking provided and will have to travel by other modes.

The 323 extra parking spaces will be primarily for public use but some will be allocated to essential staff and people who car share.

Local councillor John Buttimer rubbished the statement, drawn from the group’s planning and environmental report.

“The report is aspirational and, if entered, could win the Booker prize for fiction,” he said.

Residents also criticised the lack of communication on the entire project.

But the Beacon group said it was precluded by EU procurement law from communicating with any local representatives or groups before it lodged its planning application in November.

A Beacon group spokesperson said it was not invited to attend the public meeting on Monday.

However, it is due to meet with a Bishopscourt residents’ group tomorrow.

Meanwhile, local FF councillor Mary Shields has organised for a residents’ delegation to meet with senior city council planning officials next week to discuss the project.