Galway Bay fm newsroom - A Ballinasloe area councillor is calling for clarity on when enabling works can commence for the long awaited 50 bed ward in Portiuncula Hospital.
Independent councillor Aisling Dolan says the facility is now urgently required and has called for a planned meeting with Health Minister Simon Harris to be held as soon as possible.
The project, estimated at 20 million euro, is among 250 included in the HSE capital plan.
The shovel ready project was granted planning permission in 2016.
The HSE's spending plan will also cover 480 hospital beds, 30 primary care centres and 2 emergency departments.
Councillor Dolan says now that the 50-bed block has been included in the plan, it needs to be prioritised for delivery.
Other key healthcare infrastructure projects covered in the plan are the new emergency department building at UHG which includes maternity and paediatrics and the modular theatres at Merlin Park Hospital.
Funding has also been allocated for a blood science laboratory and a new ambulance base for Galway city.
The plan also allocates funding for the commencement of building work on a radiation oncology project at UHG as well as the replacement of two cardiac cath labs.
Meanwhile, the government insists no projects have had to be cancelled because of the over-budget Children's Hospital.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says any claims to the contrary aren't true.
