The Government has said that work is to start early in May on a second catheterisation laboratory at University Hospital Waterford.
The Department of Health has confirmed that the contract has been officially awarded to Tom O'Brien Construction for the project and HSE Estates said the contract will be on site in the first week in May, according to Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler, who is a Fianna Fáil TD for Waterford.
A second cath lab for UHW has been a controversial issue for several years in the region, with campaigners consistently demanding 24-hour, seven-day coverage for cardiac issues which arise, rather than the 9 to 5, Monday to Friday service which had been in place.
Catheterisation labs are used by heart specialists to diagnose problems which arise on an acute basis, such as heart attacks, and intervene to try and resolve these issues.
Ms Butler said today that the CEO of the South/South-West Hospital Group, Gerry O'Dwyer, received confirmation from HSE Estates that the equipment used in the new cath lab in Waterford "will have full interventional capabilities".
The contract for the supply of equipment has also been awarded this week, along with the construction project to Waterford-based Tom O'Brien Construction.
"The appointment of this contractor, alongside the awarding of a contract for an equipment supplier this week, are both huge steps forward in the delivery of the second cath lab at UHW and is very positive news for Waterford and the south-east," Ms Butler said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said last year that the construction process is expected to take about a year.
Sinn Féin Health spokesperson David Cullinane, who is also a TD for Waterford, said news of the contract award is "hugely significant" and "a shining example of what is possible when local and regional politicians work together," along with local campaigners who organised protests to raise awareness of the issue.
He added, however, that the campaign to ensure round-the-clock emergency cardiac care services at UHW will continue.
