44-acre site in Limerick confirmed as location of new hospital in Midwest 

The greenfield site is currently occupied by cows, and there is not yet a timeline for when construction might begin.

A 44-acre site in Limerick has been announced as the future location of a new hospital just 2km away from the under-pressure University Hospital Limerick.

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill welcomed the decision, which was first reported in the Irish Examiner on Monday, saying that now “everything is on the table” in terms of what services could be placed on the €14m site.

The greenfield site is currently occupied by cows, and there is not yet a timeline for when construction might begin.

It sits near major roads through the region including exits for the M7 and M20, which Ms Carroll MacNeill stressed means that people in Clare and Tipperary will continue to have access.

She also pledged to continue work already started in expanding services at Ennis and Nenagh hospitals to assist people in those regions.

“We are all in one region together and we have to develop this site,” Ms Carroll MacNeill said on Tuesday. It is going to take “a number of months” to plan this out, she said, and she declined to be drawn on timelines.

“I do expect and I think it is realistic for the project board to come back to me in the autumn,” she said.

She described the plans as “blended” version of the three options Hiqa laid out in its advice to her last year. That advice offered three options. Option A was to expand capacity at UHL, Option B to build an elective hospital nearby to UHL, and Option C was to build a new hospital in the region with an emergency department.

This site is now bigger than the current UHL site and Ms Carroll MacNeill told the Irish Examiner all options in terms of its future development are being considered.

This could include moving ahead on this site with the Option C of a hospital with an emergency department. This is likely to cause disappointment to those who had hoped to see at least one of the new hosptials located in either Clare or Tipperary.

She also did not say how many other sites were being considered.

HSE Midwest Regional Executive Officer Sandra Broderick described the news as “a massive day” for the region.

“It’s a very special day for people in the region,” she said but also acknowledged there are “still people experiencing care on a trolley” this week.

She could not give a timeframe either but said she is looking forward to working with the plans and delivering as soon as practical.