Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin yesterday reiterated his support for the Government's policy on co-location for hospitals and said his opposition to plans for a co-located hospital in Cork stemmed from planning rather than policy concerns.
Earlier this week Mr Martin said he didn't believe plans by the Beacon Medical Group to build a €250 million private hospital in the grounds of Cork University Hospital in Wilton on the city's southside were "sustainable".
However, Mr Martin stressed yesterday that his opposition to the BMG proposal to build on the northeastern corner of the Cork campus was based solely on planning concerns about the scale of the project and the impact it would have on the Bishopstown/Wilton area.
"It's a desperately tight site and it's encircled by residential and when you look at the broader Bishopstown area, you also have the Cork Institute of Technology and University College Cork expanding out into the area, so it's all adding to traffic volumes and parking concerns," said Mr Martin.
He said he would convey his concerns to the planning authorities, but he refused to speculate on possible alternative sites in Cork for a co-located hospital and said that was an issue for the developers.