Phoenix: Why are we waiting?

After the recent budget, you wonder what’s in it for us? It was particularly interesting to read David Cullinane and Matt Shanahan's opinions that the budget had no capital spending boost for Waterford. No important Waterford project will move forward.

What is going on? There is no current government project for Waterford in road, rail, airport, port, third-level education, FDI, acute or community medicine at the tender or planning permission stage. With all the game-changing talk and the massive spend by the Frisby Group on the Glassworks Building, not a stone has moved on the land purchased by SETU. 

SETU Waterford has recruited students for its new courses in pharmacy and veterinary medicine, with both courses being hosted in temporary facilities. Promised new buildings have not been delivered. They have not even gone for planning permission. 

Meanwhile, a tender request for a new veterinary facility at the Atlantic Technological University recently appeared on the e-tenders website. They were chosen with SETU to host extra Vet Med places. From the immediate appearance of their tender post-budget, their building will proceed quickly. Presumably, having Sligo TD Marian Harkin as Minister for State in the Department of Further Education did no harm to the ATU cause. Given the eternal delays associated with Waterford projects, one naturally wonders about our political representation.

Mr Cullinane has pointed out locally and in the Dáil that Waterford health projects are announced and then disappear off the radar. Local FF and FG organisations point to the now completed, but as yet unopened, welcome new surgical facility at Maypark Lane, as evidence of government support for UHW. The reality is more complex. 

In her post-budget comments, Health Minister, Jennifer Carroll McNeill differentiated between the new off-campus hub and UHW itself, saying, “We will expand our surgical hubs and open additional hospital and community capacity.” 

Where, we might ask, are the long-promised, overdue developments for UHW? The hospital is near the top of the National Treatment Purchase Fund lists for people waiting for inpatient and outpatient treatment. It has approximately twice the numbers on both lists as Cork University Hospital, but there is no urgency in the HSE or government to fund a new UHW bed block. That’s the question for Minister McNeill and our own Minister Mary Butler as Health Capital Spending increases in 2027 by only €160 million to €1.72 billion.

In January 2025 the South East sub-committee of the Regional Health Forum South had its first meeting and heard updates from HSE management on several capital projects in the Waterford area. 

“Among projects currently being progressed in the Waterford Healthcare Area are: Surgical Hub construction at UHW due for completion mid-2026. A design team has been appointed to construct a new 96-bed inpatient block at UHW, which will include a linking corridor to the existing hospital buildings. Work is ongoing on an extension at UHW for additional laboratory facilities. A new development control plan for the UHW complex is being prepared.” 

In April 2026, delays to planned UHW developments were raised in the Dáil. During an exchange with Minister Mary Butler, Deputy Cullinane highlighted public frustration over slow progress on key developments at the hospital. The minister mentioned the long-awaited replacement of the existing 44-bed Acute Mental Health Unit (AMHU) at UHW and confirmed that plans have now advanced, saying, “The design team will be appointed very shortly… and we’ll finally make progress. The funding (€100k apparently) has been provided.” 

The new development will include: A 60-bed single-room unit (increased from the planned 50 beds) costing in excess of €50 million in a location behind the Dunmore Wing.” 

Worryingly, no announcement of that design team appointment has been made. Delay for Waterford is implicit. Despite promised progress on the AMHU, Deputy Cullinane warned that UHW development remains unclear, with concerns about previously announced projects, including a proposed 96-bed ward block, multi-storey car park and a two-storey extension to outpatient facilities. Minister Butler “could not provide a clear timeline” for delivery of these developments.

A new 60-bed AMHU is very welcome, but simply replacing an existing unsatisfactory unit doesn’t improve the overarching ability of UHW to deal with its huge patient load, like a new OPD or vital new 96-bed block would. 

This block had a design team working in January 2025, is in the current programme for government and the HSE Capital Plan. It has been flagged to UHW staff as an acknowledgement of excellent performance. It is apparently ready to go. How can Minister Butler not “give a clear timeline” for its development and politically survive such a statement? Could she not ask in her own department? 

Ms Butler is chief whip, sits at cabinet and has been years in the Department of Health. The AMHU has literally staggered over a decade, with minuscule annual allocations of €100k, to its present “progress” but is still without planning permission. 

At this rate, and with interminable HSE planning and tender stages taking at least a year, construction is unlikely to start until 2028, with possible completion by the end of 2029. The surgical hub and new engineering building at SETU are both from the last government’s programme, but construction only commenced in 2025, after the present government was elected. A general election is due in January 2030. Does that imply that there will be no progress on wider UHW development until 2030?

The future of Waterford city largely depends on our public reps influencing government investment decisions. As senior local politician, Minister Butler has a heavy responsibility in that regard. She has ascended the greasy political pole, becoming government chief whip at the very centre of power. Party loyalty and diligence in supporting Taoiseach Micheál Martin have paid off, but, unfortunately, there is little enough locally, given the transactional nature of Irish politics, to which Minister Butler can point as evidence of her own input. She may find it difficult, if FF elects a new leader in 2027 post-European presidency and she returns to the back benches. Should that happen, her ability to affect any decision for Waterford would be extremely limited. 

Pointless “could have done, should have done” regrets, after the fact, are worthless.