Rebel TD joins ranks opposed to €250m co-location plan
The outspoken TD, opposed to his government’s policy of co-location, said he backed the stance taken by Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin against the Beacon Medical Group’s plans to build the 185-bed five-storey private hospital at CUH.
“I am opposed to co-location, in principle,” he said.
“But the thought of even putting a co-location hospital at CUH is bad planning.
“I agree with the minister on this issue. They have enough on the CUH campus. They should scrap the plans immediately,” he said.
“Cork is already well-serviced with private hospitals. Putting this private hospital at CUH is not the answer to the problem of freeing up public beds.”
Party colleague Noel O’Flynn said he has no difficulty with private hospitals being built on State grounds. “But we can’t have a situation where they bring in additional volumes of traffic, and use up valuable space that the public hospital could use for other projects,” said the Cork North Central TD.
Their comments came as Mr Martin hit back at criticism from Fine Gael about his position on the CUH issue. Cork South Central’s Deputy Deirdre Clune and Bishopstown-based Senator Jerry Buttimer both accused the minister of “speaking out of both sides of his mouth” — supporting the co-location policy at Cabinet level while objecting to the Beacon group’s project in Cork.
But Mr Martin insisted there are two separate issues involved. He supports the policy of co-location at national level but the manifestation of this policy at a local level at CUH is simply not sustainable, he said.
“The national policy still has to fit in to planning framework at a local level,” he said.
In his capacity as Health Minister, Mr Martin said he oversaw huge development at CUH — a maternity hospital, an A&E unit, and cardiac and renal units.
“I just think there is too much on the site now,” he said. Few people would have anticipated the growth and development on the site when it was planned 30 years ago, he said.
“We all know how congested it is, and with the expansion of Cork Institute of Technology and University College Cork, there is an issue in terms of congestion and parking.”
He called for a park and ride facility in the Bishopstown/Wilton area to cater for commuter traffic to CUH, the institute and the university. He also said he would lodge an objection with Cork City Council’s planning department against the Beacon group’s hospital.
However, Mr Buttimer called again on the Government to use other HSE sites if they are serious about co-location. “If the CUH site is unsustainable, then the onus is on you to pull the project,” he said.
But Mr Martin said it was up to the Beacon group to await a planning decision and decide then on the future of the project.
