Two of the public hospital sites earmarked for the construction of co-located private hospitals will not go out to tender for the moment, the Health Service Executive (HSE) confirmed yesterday.
These are at Blanchardstown and Tallaght hospitals in Dublin. However, the HSE said it expected them to go out to tender in due course.
Meanwhile, tenders were invited by the HSE yesterday from developers willing to build private hospitals on six other public hospital sites. These are at Waterford Regional Hospital, Sligo General Hospital, Limerick Regional Hospital, Cork University Hospital and St James's and Beaumont hospitals in Dublin.
The bidders have 28 days to respond, and it is expected legally-binding agreements to build the hospitals will be signed, at the earliest, by the end of May.
The private co-located hospitals are being built as part of a Government initiative to free up 1,000 beds in public hospitals. All Opposition parties have said they will scrap the plan if elected.