3 July 2021
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
TD calls for new elective hospital to be located on campus of the existing St Stephens, Sarsfieldscourt, Glanmire.
Fianna Fail TD for Cork North Central, Pádraig O’Sullivan has called for the selection of St Stephen’s, Glanmire as the most suitable site for a new elective hospital for Cork.
Deputy O’Sullivan commented, “As a decision on the location of the new elective hospital for Cork is imminent. I am calling on the department of health and the government to use prudence and common sense in selecting St Stephens, Glanmire as the most suitable site.”
St Stephen’s Hospital, Glanmire, was built under Dr. Noel Browne the then Minister for Health, on 90 acres of land. Comprising of a thirteen-bay three-storey (south facing) main hospital block and ten standalone units all in the one complex. It has a huge kitchen and dining area adjacent to the main stores. A mortuary and research laboratory and its own water tower with enough supply for a small town, with everything connected to the Public sewage line.
St Stephen’s is located in a population growth area of the city and within 600 meters of the Cork-Dublin motorway. Connectivity can be further enhanced by the new city northern orbital road, running from Ballincollig, true Blarney and ending in Glanmire. This can provide proper access from areas around Macroom in the west and Mallow / Charleville in the north. Then there’s the areas of east Cork, west Waterford and south Tipperary which will have easy access without going through the city.
Deputy O’Sullivan
Deputy O’Sullivan continued: “The population catchment area for the new hospital would be in excess of half a million people and growing, and the City urban area is expected to grow by 50% over the next twenty years, highlighting the importance of any public infrastructure of this nature to have the capacity to meet demand going forward.
The Cork North Central TD concluded: “St Stephen’s is not only a project of the present it has unlimited opportunity for future expansion due to the large land bank on which it sits. The advantage to the taxpayer is that we already own this valuable resource. There will be no need to spend hundreds of millions purchasing land in another part of the city.”
