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For Written Answer on : 08/07/2025
Question Number(s): 793 Question Reference(s): 37334/25
Department: Health
Asked by: Joe Cooney T.D.
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QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Health the progress regarding the co-location of the UHL maternity hospital to the Dooradoyle campus; if she will provide an estimated timeline for such a move to be completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
REPLY
It is Government policy, in line with international best practice and as re-iterated in the National Maternity Strategy, to co-locate our remaining standalone maternity hospitals with adult acute hospitals.
Co-location of maternity services with adult services provides mothers with access to a full range of medical and support services should the need arise. The availability of these services helps ensure the delivery of an optimum, safe service, particularly for high-risk mothers and babies.
Co-location of the National Maternity Hospital to the St Vincent’s Hospital campus, which is the first maternity hospital to be co-located under the National Maternity Strategy, is currently subject to a tender process to select the contractor to build that new facility.
The co-location of University Maternity Hospital Limerick to the University Hospital Limerick campus in Dooradoyle is considered to be the next maternity co-location project. The scale and complexity of delivering a new maternity hospital means that the co-location will be considered a major capital project and subject to the requirements of D/PENDR’s Infrastructure Guidelines. This proposal is currently at an early appraisal stage with a Strategic Assessment Report/ Preliminary Business Case under development.