The Minister for Health must progress the option of building a Model 3 hospital in the Mid-West following the completion of a HIQA review of urgent and emergency healthcare services in the region, according to Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice.
Deputy Rice, who is the party’s health spokesperson, said:
“I welcome that this review has finally been published. The shortcomings of the reconfiguration process in the Mid-West have been obvious for a long time, yet it took 15 years for this review to be commissioned.
“In 2008, prior to reconfiguration, the Horwath Review of Acute Hospital Services in the Mid-West made clear that the closure of other emergency departments should not occur without increased capacity in University Hospital Limerick (UHL). In fact, that report recommended a capacity of 642 inpatient beds in UHL as a pre-condition to closing the other EDs.
“Despite this, EDs in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s were closed with only 375 inpatient beds in UHL. And while there has been a significant increase in UHL’s bed capacity in recent years, the trolley crisis in the region has continued to deepen. Recent increases have not kept pace with demand and have been undercut by years of historic underinvestment.
“This morning, 133 patients were without a bed in UHL – the highest number in the country by a wide margin. And yesterday, the hospital reported 147 patients on trolleys – just three patients shy of the record 150 reached in February 2024.
“This is frightening when you consider that we haven’t even entered the winter months.
“In this context, there is an obvious need for increased capacity in UHL but that does not discount the need for an additional ED in the region.
“Option C, as set out in HIQA’s review – the development of a Model 3 hospital in the region with an ED – can be progressed alongside the other options. Options A and B propose expanding capacity at UHL on the Dooradoyle site or extending the UHL hospital campus to comprise a new, second site nearby.
“The Mid-West urgently needs a Model 3 hospital. After all, it’s the only region without one. It’s now three years since HIQA first stated that the absence of a Model 3 hospital in the region significantly impacted the effective workings of Limerick’s ED.
“That is why I am calling on the Minister for Health to urgently begin planning for a Model 3 hospital in the region, while also increasing UHL’s capacity to address the current and projected deficits.
“Potential planning delays or the experience of building the National Children’s Hospital must not be viewed as reasons not to progress with plans for a new hospital in the Mid-West.
“That would be short-sighted and a sign that the government has thrown in the towel on delivering much-needed public infrastructure on time, and within budget – goals that are fully achievable with political will and, crucially, the right contract and governance.”
September 30, 2025