Fine Gael TD Hildegarde Naughton has said Fianna Fáil and the Greens are putting politics ahead of patients with their wishes to change the National Development Plan.
Deputy Naughton said that everyone is well aware that waiting lists, including at University Hospital Galway, are too long.
“The elective hospitals in the National Development Plan are the answer. There is a much-needed 200 plus bed hospital planned for Galway, with similar plans for Dublin and Cork.
“These hospitals will deal with all elective procedures and free up acute hospital beds.”
Deputy Naughton continued: “Wanting to reopen and change the National Development Plan puts politics ahead of patients.
“We now know Fianna Fáil do not support major national roads and transport projects or the creation of vital new hospitals.
“The Government Climate Action plan has been welcomed by the independent experts in the field but Fianna Fáil and the Greens are willing to put vital health expenditure at risk to score cheap political points,`” she concluded.
