Mattie McGrath demands 60-bed unit for St Paddy's Hospital
Mattie McGrath pressed the Minister for Health on the future of St Paddy's Hospital in Cashel, urging a firm commitment to build the promised 60-bed community nursing unit. He warned Cashel must not lose out again and raised concerns about parking, site suitability and delivery timescales.
Demand for a 60-bed community unit
McGrath told the Dáil the community, public representatives, staff and patients had been promised a 60-bed community hospital on the listed St Paddy's site and demanded the government honour that commitment. He referenced past losses in the 80s and said the promised unit must proceed for the sake of patients, families and staff.
Site suitability and parking concerns
The Minister for Health reported that the HSE has advised the existing hospital site is not suitable for the new 60-bed community nursing unit, citing limited size and challenges around parking and access. McGrath had warned against the narrative that "there is no room for car parking" and sought reassurance on local parking provision.
Other local developments in Clonmel
The minister noted a community nursing unit is already under construction in Clonmel and a separate 10-bed crisis house for mental health is also being built there, highlighting other regional projects underway.
Government response and next steps
A site within Cashel town is currently being reviewed, the minister told the Deputy, but commercial transactions are commercially sensitive and cannot be discussed while under review. He confirmed the development has been included in the capital plan since last year and gave assurance that the development "will go ahead."
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
The Minister for Health, I want to ask about St Paddy's Hospital in Cashel, a wonderful institution that has been there for hundreds of years. The community and public reps and everybody else were promised a 60-bed community hospital built on that site. It is a listed building. There were 350 patients and staff, and there were plenty of room to park. Now I would hate to see you come up again with another story, there is no room for car parking. I want a commitment for your government that at our ladies the 60-bed unit will go ahead and Cashel won't lose out again as it did in the 80s under a Fine Gael-led government. So it is vital that this 60-bed community unit be built, none of the suffetage in hiding. Minister Butler has met other noises lately and there is huge concern and angst in Tipperary about this and it has to be sorted out. And the commitment is honoured here. They have been promised and it was lived up to. We are all expecting it. Staff, the public, everybody else's episode. And above all, the patients and the families. Minister Donnelly and myself are committed to the development of a new community nursing unit for older persons for cattle. As the Deputy is aware, there is already a community nursing unit under construction in Clonmel and also a 10-bed crisis house for mental health under construction in Clonmel. The HSE has advised that the existing hospital site is not suitable for the new 60-bed at CNU. And the HSE has advised that the site is very limited in size. Challenges regarding the amount of parking space and access to the building have been identified. But just so to reassure you, a site within Cashel Town is currently being reviewed and you will know, Deputy, being a businessman yourself, that these transactions are commercially sensitive and they can't be discussed while they are under investigation. The development is included in the capital plan since last year and the development, Deputy, will go ahead. We will go ahead. Thank you.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
