First Phase Opening of New Mater Adult Hospital

Ireland’s Minister for Health Dr. James Reilly has just announced the first phase opening of the new €284 million Mater Adult Hospital in Dublin. RPS successfully guided this complex development project through the planning system and secured planning permission for the new hospital from Dublin City Council and An Bord Pleanála (the national planning appeals board).

The new landmark hospital is located on the six hectare Mater Misericordiae Hospital Campus in Dublin’s inner city. It is the national centre for cardiac surgery, heart and lung transplants, spinal injuries and life support services. The new nine storey building will contain state-of-the art facilities including 12 new operating theatres, 120 one-bed en suite rooms, new emergency and out-patients departments and a 444-space underground car park. It will be the greenest and most technologically driven hospital in Ireland upon its completion.

The development will result in reduced waiting times for theatre, outpatient and accident and emergency services and will provide increased privacy, dignity and comfort for patients. The addition of 100 per cent single rooms will benefit cardiothoracic, orthopaedic-spinal and oncology patients and will play a significant role in fighting the spread of infection.

Phase One of the hospital development, which provides for the new outpatients department, catering and technical services, will be fully open to the public in June 2012. The new emergency department, car park, operating theatres, intensive care unit, radiology and single en suite rooms will roll out in Phase Two between July and December 2012. Completion of final works will be in May of 2013.

Currently the Mater hospital admits approximately 16,500 patients each year. In addition it treats in the region of 40,000 day patients, 47,500 Emergency Department cases and in excess of 220,000 outpatients annually.

RPS’ chartered town planners based in Dublin were responsible for co-ordinating and producing a number of sequential planning applications which secured planning permission for the new Mater Adult Hospital. This included a successful first party appeal to An Bord Pleanála relating to development contribution conditions imposed by Dublin City Council. RPS also subsequently gave evidence on behalf of the hospital at An Bord Pleanála’s Oral Hearing for the Metro North Railway Order Project.¹

RPS provides ongoing planning advice to the hospital and is currently overseeing a final wrap-up planning submission on behalf of the client relating to minor internal and external amendments to the hospital building. This required entering into Strategic Infrastructure Development pre-application consultations with An Bord Pleanála in order to determine that planning application can be made directly to Dublin City Council.

The new hospital building will comprise approximately 55,000 square metres and will realise a significant healthcare component of Ireland’s National Development Plan.

¹ Metro North Railway Order Project: One of two new rapid transit rail lines planned for Dublin. One of the line’s proposed underground stops would serve the Mater Hospital.