The CEO of UL Hospitals Group is adament that the new Accident and Emergency Unit in Dooradoyle will be fully operational in early 2017.
It was hoped that the facility would be finished by the end of next year but this target will be missed.
Work has begun on the new Accident and Emergency Department at University Hospital Limerick but the targetted opening time has been put back until early 2017.
The CEO of UL Hospitals Group says strict criteria around competition law and tendering as well as measures ensuring that the unit is safe has led to the additional wait.
Colette Cowen is confident that the new target will be met, and says recruitment is already underway.
Whitegate Councillor Pat Burke is a member of the HSE's Health Forum West. He hopes the new unit will be worth the wait.
Meanwhile, Ennis General Hospital is being hailed as an exemplar model two hospital that other hospitals around the country are looking to, in order to develop their own facilities.
CEO of UL Hospitals Group Colette Cowan says Ennis General plays a vital role in providing healthcare here.
