Martin: CUH project not sustainable

AS HEALTH Minister Mary Harney prepares to sign off on the first hospital co-location contracts this week, her cabinet colleague Micheál Martin has once again insisted the Cork project is not “sustainable”.

Ms Harney and the Beacon Medical Group will finalise the contracts for the private hospitals in the grounds of Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Limerick Regional Hospital and Cork University Hospital.

However, the plans for Cork have not gone down well with Mr Martin who has written to Cork City Council’s planning director about the €250 million project. In his letter, he claims local residents are “extremely concerned” about the development of the 185-bed hospital because it will undermine their privacy and reduce their access to light. In addition, he questioned whether traffic management in the area could take both the hospital and the Cork Institute of Technology and University College Cork campus expansions.