Construction of a €100 million private hospital in the grounds of Adare Manor Hotel in Co Limerick is expected to start later this summer.
Officials at Limerick County Council have approved a planning application for the 100-bed private hospital, which will be known as the Adare Hospital and Clinic.
The ambitious project is overseen by the founding president of the University of Limerick, Dr Ed Walsh, who is chair of a steering committee behind the development.
The committee also includes the owner of Adare Manor and the principal investor, US businessman Tom Kane.
Up to 380 jobs are expected to be created at the new private hospital, which is due to open its doors to patients at the end of 2007.
Approval by planning officials for the project has been broadly welcomed by residents of Adare and local politicians, who anticipate a major boost to the economy of the village and its hinterland.
The new Adare Hospital and Clinic will stand in a 23-acre parkland site in the grounds of the 840-acre Adare Manor estate.
A planning application on behalf of Adare Partners LP for the 250,000sq ft facility was lodged with Limerick County Council last year.
Each of the 100 private rooms will have flat-screen televisions and computer terminals with internet access for patients and their families.
The development, which will be situated in a corner of the estate, will have six operating theatres, two radiology suites and 30 consultant suites.
It will provide a range of medical areas of expertise, including cardiology, orthopaedics, oncology, urology, neurology and gynaecology. It will also provide plastic surgery.