Planning delayed for Glanmire hospital

Plans for a new regional elective surgical hospital on the old St Stephens Hospital site in Glanmire may be delayed due to issues with road infrastructure, the Oireachtas health committee has been told.

The HSE is currently working to progress detailed design to support the statutory planning submission for the new facility, but existing road infrastructure might not be sufficient to support the construction phase or the development itself.

Brian O’Connor, the HSE’s head of strategic health infrastructure and capital, said that “the biggest single issue” with the new facility was getting access to it.

He confirmed that they were “working with the council to see if there is a solution”, but that the planning application was “subject to that item being resolved”.

The HSE told committee members that it is considering the introduction of a new slip road to service the hospital, and it is currently in discussions with several landowners about facilitating this.

Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North-Central, Pádraig O’Sullivan, told The Echo: “My concern is that this will mean delays.

“If they need to look into land acquisition or compulsory purchase orders, it could take a number of years, depending on if landowners want to surrender land.

“We were initially promised this hospital in 2027 or 2028, now it’s looking like it could be 2030 or 2031.”

His ward colleague, Fine Gael TD Colm Burke, added that residents are also concerned about an increased volume of traffic on the road.