The HSE says an elective hospital at Merlin Park is proceeding as planned.
It comes after highly confusing messaging in the Dáil, which seemed to indicate that the HSE was significantly downgrading the proposal.
The HSE has assured that the planned elective hospital, or elective treatment centre, at Merlin Park remains on track for development.
It says a team is progressing with the design, with the aim of lodging a planning application this year.
The HSE states the aim of the hospital is to meet very high demand for lower-complexity ambulatory procedures - effectively walk-in, walk-out on the same day.
And perhaps most critically, it says there are no beds planned at this stage, nor was that ever the plan for any elective hospital nationwide.
This is despite the hospital consistently being described as a 200 bed elective hospital since 2018 - including by Government Ministers - and the HSE seemingly failing to correct the record.
Instead, the HSE says hundreds of new beds are planned at the UHG campus, alongside the elective hospital and surgical hub projects at Merlin Park.
