An Bord Pleanála has been urged by Labour Spokesperson on Housing and Local Government Ciarán Lynch, to be consistent when deciding on private hospitals.

After the appeals board overturned a Cork City Council decision to grant planning permission to Sheehan Medical for a private hospital in Bishopstown, Mr Lynch called on the board to act with consistency in deciding on a Beacon Medical proposal at Cork University Hospital.

He said: "I note with interest the decision by An Bord Pleanála to overturn a decision by Cork City Council which would have allowed for the development by Sheehan Medical, of a €110m private hospital on a Greenfield site in Bishopstown.

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"An Bord Pleanála are also looking at an appeal relating to the proposed development by Beacon Medical to build a co-located hospital at Cork University Hospital. We need some consistency in this regard, and if a private hospital is not right in one area, it's not right in the other."

He added: "The people of Bishopstown and Wilton have every right to be concerned about the impact that the proposed CUH clinic will have. The area has been subject to endless development, including high rise development, for the last ten years. The CUH site will only put further pressure on local infrastructure, which is already close to breaking point."

(VB/JM)