New A&E department moves a step closer

A NEW €40 million Accident and Emergency Department at Beaumont Hospital has moved a step closer with news that €100,000 will be made available in 2018 to fund design team fees.

Minister for Disabilities Finian McGrath has welcomed the green light for the much-needed project. 

“This new department is great news for patients, the staff and for the Northside of Dublin,” said Minister McGrath. 

“It’s also a fantastic project for the future of our health service.”

Minister McGrath said he has been campaigning for the new A&E for “many years and now it is being delivered”. 

“It is included in the Programme for Government,” he added.

Minister McGrath thanked the hospital’s management team, the HSE, the Department of Health and the Independent Alliance for their “great support”.

Meanwhile, local Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Lab) has cautiously welcomed the announcement.

“The actual €45 million needed to deliver the new building has not been budgeted for,” he argued. 

“It's not good enough to say that the project 'should' go ahead in 2019.

“We need to know if building work will start in 2019 or if this is just a publicity stunt.”

Senator Ó Ríordáin vowed that his party would continue its two-year campaign for a new A&E in Beaumont relentlessly until the Government delivers the investment needed for the Northside community and beyond.

“We need a commitment from the Government that the funding to build the A&E will be in place in 2019, and not just publicity stunts about €100,000 of funding for design works,” he          added.