€190m Limerick Hospital Begins Construction

A sod-turning ceremony has taken place to mark the beginning of construction on a new €190 million Bon Secours hospital in Ballysimon, Limerick.

The major development, which forms part of a wider €300 million national investment by Bon Secours Health System, will create 250 new jobs and greatly expand services offered to all patients in the Mid-West.

Expected to open in 2025, the Limerick hospital expects to be able to treat more than 50,000 patients annually through a wide range of services and technologically advanced care offered by the new facilities. It will feature 75 Inpatient beds, four bed Special Observation Unit, 20-bay Day Surgical Unit, four operating theatres, minor op rooms and more.

Speaking at the sod-turning ceremony, Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar said: "This is an extremely welcome healthcare development for Limerick and the Mid-West region. In addition to creating 250 new high-skilled jobs, 150 additional hospital beds are being provided, to add to the 96 new beds being provided at UHL. It will greatly expand the quality of health services on offer to people living and working in the Mid-West. This hospital will be used by private patients who are insured and public patients funded by Government. I am confident that there can be good co-operation and integration of all healthcare in the region; public, private, hospital and community as envisaged by the Sláintecare Plan. Bon Secours Health System's sustained investment in world-class care and facilities is a testament to its continued commitment to technologically advanced healthcare innovation and excellence. I am honoured to turn the first sod for this new hospital."


Bon Secours Health System Group Chief Executive, Bill Maher, commented: "This new facility will transform day-care surgical and oncology treatments available in Limerick, provide new services such as general medicine, a new cath lab and cardiology, and widen patient-centred services to a growing local population. It is the latest development in our €300m national investment strategy, with the Mid-West now set to further benefit from the high-quality healthcare and technologically advanced services that are the Bon Secours hallmark. The Taoiseach's support today is a real endorsement of our ongoing efforts to provide the highest quality in service provision, combining the latest technologies and approaches with compassion and personalised medical care. Our ambition is to continue to build greater partnership with the public system to increase national capacity, improve services and jointly tackle waiting lists providing good help to those in need."

Jason Kenny, Bon Secours Health System Chief Strategy Officer added: "This is an exciting moment as we now turn the sod on a project that we have been building towards for three years. We have been on a significant journey since we took over the Barringtons hospital on George's Quay in 2017. The site restrictions there have always meant our ambitions for the region have been to develop a state-of-the-art new hospital. It is now with great pride that we take the next step in this respect here in Ballysimon as part of transforming healthcare in the locality and better meeting the surging healthcare needs of the Mid-West region. As always, patients will receive the highest standards of medical care, which is synonymous with Bon Secours, but from 2025 in a hospital setting that will set new standards in terms of excellence, comfort, accessibility, and sustainability. We are looking forward to continuing to work with our staff, medical partners such as our consultants and GPs and, indeed, patients across the Mid-West region towards a special moment in 2025 when we open this pioneering new private hospital for the Mid-West."

This hospital is being built on a sustainable site with access to public transport, provision for EV parking and facilities for cyclists. To save energy and to be aware of climate change the buildings will be equipped with heat pump technology for heating and cooling, green roof technology and natural daylight and ventilation will be used where appropriate.