There has been a commitment by the Minister for Health that a promised new unit at St Vincent's University Hospital, including dedicated facilities for people with cystic fibrosis, will be operational as soon as possible in 2011.
Mary Harney said that the project will proceed on the basis of payment for construction being made when the facility is built, rather than staged payments.
The Cystic Fibrosis Association said tonight that if the facility is operational in 2011, it would represent significant progress.
Construction had been due to begin this year but recently the HSE said it did not have the funding and that construction could not begin until 2011 at the earliest.
