“Depressing”, “shocking”, and “unacceptable” are how Galway politicians have described the revelation that no date has been set for the lodging of a planning application for the new emergency department at UHG.
The revelations came during a debate on the issue in Seanad Éireann this week, where the Minister of State for Public Health, Frank Feighan, said there was no definitive timeline for the proposed new emergency department and maternity and pediatric unit at the hospital, as the project was still proceeding through the Public Spending Code.
He said no date had yet been set for the lodgement of any application until all the stages of the code had been gone through. The Public Spending Code sets out the various approval gateways that a capital infrastructure project must go through before permission can be granted for construction to start. A planning application was originally to have been submitted at the end of 2018.
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The Minister also admitted he was not in a position to state how far along the design for the project was. However, he said the design team for the project had held pre-planning meetings with the Galway City Council on the enabling works.
However, work on a temporary extension to the Emergency Department has begun. This will provide additional accommodation, including segregated waiting and treatment areas, isolation rooms, additional resuscitation spaces, and support accommodation for Covid-19 patients. It is expected to be completed by 2022.
‘Stumbling block’
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The issue of the new ED at UHG was raised in the Seanad by Fine Gael Galway Senator, Sean Kyne. He underlines the urgency of the need for such a facility, quoting new figures from the INMO showing there were 24 patients on trolleys in UHG on Monday, and 30 patients on trolleys the week before.
Sen Kyne asked the Minister Feighan, if a timeline has been set for the lodgement of a planning application for the new ED; how far along the design was, and if the project is waiting for Department of Public Expenditure and Reform approval.
“I do not see the rationale for the planning permission not having been lodged,” he said. “We have had ministerial visits to Galway, where we have been told that planning permission would be lodged prior to Christmas 2018. What is the stumbling block?”
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In his response, Minister Feighin said the ED and women's and children's development is of such a “significant scale” and complexity, that, following an internal HSE review, it will progress as one single project.
As it is a capital development proposal, it must progress through a number of approval stages in line with the Public Spending Code, which, the Minister admitted, can impact on the timeline for delivery. He said the new building will have clinical areas, ancillary support services, and acute surgical and medical assessment units, a labour and delivery unit, operating theatres, a maternity day assessment unit, foetal assessment unit, a neonatal unit, ante-natal and postnatal inpatient departments, a paediatric day ward, and an inpatient ward.
“It is now July 2021 and the project is not progressing and there is no indication of when it will be progressing" - Sen Sean Kyne
He was less clear on the progress of the design for the new structure: “The Senator asked if the design was 70 per cent, 80 per cent, or 90 per cent complete but I am not in a position to state that.”
Minister Feighin pointed out that the temporary ED project will “serve as an enabling works projects” for the proposed new, permanent, ED, as it will “help to free up the site required for the proposed new block”.
‘Not confident’
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The response from Galway has ranged from frustration to anger. Sen Kyne said it was “depressing” the project was still in the early stages of design, “considering we were told the planning application would be lodged before Christmas 2018”.
He noted that February 2019 and May 2019 were also dates given for the lodgement of the planning application. “It is now July 2021 and the project is not progressing and there is no indication of when it will be progressing,” he said. “I could not be confident from the Minister’s reply that a planning application would be ready this year.”
Sen Kyne said he intends to “keep the pressure on” regarding the project. Minister Feighen said he would convey Sen Kyne’s “frustration and concern” to the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly.
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Independent Galway County councillor, James Charity, described the situation as “shocking and unacceptable” and he accused the Government of treating the people of Galway, and the staff of UHG “with contempt and indifference”.
“The lack of urgency on this project is compromising the health and safety of those who find themselves in the unfortunate position of having to utilise the Emergency Department,” he said. “A clear commitment from the Government is urgently needed to provide the resources to get this project started immediately."
‘Too much time on approvals’
Independent Galway East TD, Sean Canney, meanwhile has called for the Public Spending Code to be “overhauled as a matter of urgency”, saying it has become a major obstacle in delivering public infrastructure.
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“We have become a nation of approvals and processes,” he said. “It seems that the Public Spending Code has prioritised paperwork over progress on works.”
He believes that every Government department having different approval processes - the National Transport Authority has six; the Department of Sport has nine, the Department of Housing has four - shows how there is no standardisation in the approval process.
“It ties up scarce technical staff and consultants' time in a never-ending cycle of reports and paperwork,” he said. “Most capital projects take in excess of seven years to bring to construction from the date of inception of the project.”
Dep Canney is calling on the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath, to address the issue.
