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Home arrow News arrow Local News arrow Shortt doubts go-ahead of private hospital
Shortt doubts go-ahead of private hospital E-mail
Written by Rachael Finucane   
Wednesday, 03 June 2009
     A LOCAL election candidate has expressed doubt that the co-located hospital slated for the grounds of the Mid Western Regional Hospital will go ahead-a claim strongly denied by Beacon Medical Group.
   Tom Shortt, Limerick North local election candidate for the Labour Party, criticised recent announcements about the project receiving planning permission, because he does not believe it will go ahead.
   “There will be no jobs at the Beacon co-located hospital because the developers are highly unlikely to manage to raise the finance to get the project off the ground. The granting of planning permission for the project is irrelevant because it is commercially non-viable. Tax-breaks for these types of projects were removed in the recent budget and banks have little money to lend to commercially risky projects, such as co-location, in an environment where private health insurance companies are losing money,” he said.
   “Labour remains vehemently opposed to co-location, a socially-divisive policy that segregates the sick according to their financial means.”
   He added that the Government must provide adequate state investment in the regional Hospitals, and he called for a government bond issue to support major infrastructural developments, “which would create genuine, rather than fictitious, jobs in the building industry and provide modern health care facilities for decades to come”.
   Pauline Cullen, Commercial Director of Beacon, said that the company has already had “extensive discussions with the banks. There is an appetite for health and environmental projects. We expect to raise the finances within four to six months, as soon as the department of health and the HSE sign off on the contracts we can commence fund-raising”.
   She said that while there is criticism of the project, she “has not seen alternatives being offered”, unless income tax levels are raised further.
   “Is there another way of providing 1,000 beds? These hospitals will be treating public patients and creating employment.”
   

   

   

   

   

 
 

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