Hopes by Minister for Health Mary Harney that she would see contracts for the building of eight private hospitals on public hospital sites signed by the end of April look set to be dashed.
This follows confirmation yesterday by the Health Service Executive (HSE), which is responsible for implementing the plan, that it does not expect to select the developers who will build these hospitals, following a tendering process, until mid-April.
A HSE spokesman confirmed that after the successful bidders are selected there will have to be a "cooling-off period", which he said would last two weeks, and during which time unsuccessful bidders may raise issues.
The cooling-off period is expected to last until the end of April and the HSE said then it would start talking to developers about contracts.
The HSE spokesman said it is expected that people would negotiate contracts and this could take time.
He also confirmed that the tenders "will be subject to them getting planning permission".
The HSE's comments came as Sinn Féin held a protest outside the Progressive Democrats head office in Dublin over the plan to build private hospitals on the grounds of public ones.
They are due to be built on the grounds of the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick; Waterford Regional Hospital;Cork University Hospital; Sligo General Hospital; and St James's Hospital, Beaumont Hospital, Connolly Hospital and Tallaght Hospital in Dublin.
Ms Harney announced the plan in July 2005 saying it would ensure public hospitals clawed back 1,000 beds for public patients by transferring private patients to the new private hospitals, which would be built by investors on the sites of public hospitals. The initiative has been criticised by Labour and Fine Gael, as well as Sinn Féin.
Speaking at yesterday's protest, Sinn Féin's Aengus Ó Snodaigh said the plan should be scrapped. "This is a disgraceful plan aimed at massively subsidising the private healthcare industry by providing land at public hospital sites as well as tax breaks for private, for-profit hospital developers to whom healthcare is just another way to make easy money. This plan pours money into the pockets of millionaires at the expense of ordinary taxpayers and public hospital patients and staff alike. This public money should be spent in the public system only on services that are available to all based on need alone," he said.
At present a number of shortlisted developers are in dialogue with the HSE about building the private hospitals. "That is due to conclude in the first week of March and then a number will be invited to tender to build them," the HSE spokesman explained.