Editorial: Need for more investment at St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny, as population grows

There is a growing need for further investment at St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny, as the local hospital’s catchment area expands in terms of population size, while key vacancies remain unfilled.

Recent figures from the INMO’s Trolleywatch show a surge in overcrowding — the worst February since 2022 — with February 2026 showing more than three times the number of people waiting on a bed compared to last year. There was better news on Thursday and Friday of this week, when the number fell to zero for two consecutive days.

However, there is no doubt the demand on local healthcare is increasing all the time, and diagnostic services continue to experience pressure.

Meanwhile, under the HSE Capital Plan 2026, allocations towards facility and equipment upgrades at St Luke’s must include provision for a second CT scanner among other health infrastructure projects. Many will remember how long we had to wait for the delivery of an MRI, despite being pledged in numerous capital budgets.

On a visit in 2018, then-health minister Simon Harris promised the machine would be in place in 2019. It was not installed until 2022. TAP HERE FOR MORE KILKENNY VIEWS & OPINION

Ring road
A public consultation event took place yesterday (Tuesday) on the new Kilkenny City North Transport Project. The council insists this is not the Kilkenny northern ring road extension under another name. That project, it says, was shelved in 2014.

The new project is a fresh appraisal ‘aligned with the Department of Transport’s Transport Appraisal Framework (TAF) and the Public Spending Code’. The work now under way focuses on transport challenges and exploring possible interventions, including active travel, public transport, speed ramps, crossings, and more. At this stage no design options have been developed and no preferred option has been identified.

In short, the completion of the ring road appears to be very much up in the air. And whatever the decided scheme ultimately will be, it has an extraordinary number of hurdles still to navigate. A solution looks as far away as ever.