'Totally broken': Donnelly tells Government hospitals should be exempted from planning rules

Minister tells his Cabinet colleagues: 'The current system is totally and utterly broken and it is hurting us politically'  

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly spelled out to the Cabinet a proposal to speed up the design and building of hospitals — including the new elective facilities. File picture: PA

The Government is looking to exempt major hospital projects from current planning rules to enable faster delivery of acute beds, the Irish Examiner can reveal.

It is hoped that an accelerated capital process can lead to increased bed capacity in a more timely fashion.