By Róise Collins

DONEGAL county councillors have been assured that work is progressing on the highly anticipated surgical hub at Letterkenny University Hospital, with a design team expected to be appointed in the first quarter of 2026.

This follows concerns raised by councillors Gerry McMonagle, Declan Meehan and Ciaran Brogan at Tuesday’s meeting of the Regional Health Forum West.

All three members had asked the HSE for an indicative timeline for delivery of the surgical hub.

However, in their written response the HSE focused on the creation of a development control plan and the proposed ambulatory care hub for the LUH campus without mentioning the surgical hub.

Chairperson of the health forum, Cllr Gerry McMonagle, described the response as “perplexing”.

Meanwhile Cllr Declan Meehan added that, “details on the surgical hub were scant, with no indicative timeline or aspirational timeline”.

Cllr Ciaran Brogan echoed their concerns, stressing that all they wanted was clarity on the timeline moving forward.

In response, Tony Canavan, Regional Executive Officer, apologised for the lack of clarity and reassured the councillors that work was progressing.

“Let me be as clear as I possibly can,” Mr Canavan said.

“The surgical hub announced for Letterkenny is progressing well.”

He explained that the delivery of both the Letterkenny and Sligo surgical hubs are being led by a national steering group which is overseeing the development of elective hospital care across the country.

“While it is difficult to put an exact timeline on it, the appointment of a design team in the first quarter of 2026 will help us in that regard,” he added.

Mr Canavan assured the councillors that once the design team is appointed, they will provide a clearer timeline for the surgical hub’s delivery.