Clare TD Joe Cooney has welcomed the appointment of Sean O’Driscoll as Chair of the Mid West Hospital Development Board, saying patients across Clare, Limerick and Tipperary “cannot afford further delay” in delivering the planned expansion of University Hospital Limerick.
The Fine Gael deputy said the appointment marks an important step in progressing one of the region’s biggest healthcare projects.
Mr O’Driscoll previously served on the Government’s Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce and is a former Chair and Chief Executive of Glen Dimplex and former chair of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
Deputy Cooney said Clare families have been waiting too long for certainty on how the proposed new hospital will improve healthcare services across the county.
He said he had been pressing the Minister for Health to establish the development board through a cross-party group of Mid-West Oireachtas members.
“Now that a chair is in place, I want to see an early meeting between the board and Mid-West Oireachtas members so we can get a clear timeline for delivery and ensure the needs of communities across the region are reflected in the plans from the outset,” he said.
Deputy Cooney also praised what he described as the pace of progress to date, noting that the HIQA recommendations were published just over nine months ago, a site has since been identified, land acquired and the development board established.
“I welcome the speed with which the Minister has acted so far, and I fully expect that momentum to continue,” he said.