A €90m private hospital has been officially opened in Cork by Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin.
It is the city's first private general hospital in 90 years.
The Cork Medical Centre in Mahon will be operated by Sheehan Medical, who are also involved in the Galway Clinic and Dublin's Blackrock Clinic.
Sheehan Medical said the facility, which has 75 en-suite bedrooms, will eventually employ 525 people and handle up to 39,000 patient treatments per year.
Built by John Cleary Developments, the facility has six operating theatres.
CMC has been approved by Aviva Health Insurance, however, negotiations with Quinn Insurance and VHI are continuing.
