The Health Minister Mary Harney says the possibility of using St. Luke’s Hospital in Dublin to provide palliative care is being looked at.
Under new Government plans cancer treatments will be transferred from the Rathgar Hospital to St. James Hospital and Beaumont Hospital by 2014.
The facility has been caring for cancer patients from all over Ireland for more than 50 years.
An Oireachtas Committee has heard that there are genuine fears about what the site will be used for.
But Minister Harney says it will be definitely be used for public health purposes.
“The board of the hospital have commissioned prospectus to produce a report on what the best use of the facility would be, and that report is imminent” she said.
“My own view is it might be a combination of palliative care, including non-cancer patients who require palliative support and maybe some long-term care element”.
“But it will be used for public health purposes” she added.
