A Waterford TD says absolute clarity is needed on the second Cath Lab at University Hospital Waterford.

There’s fears that the project which was confirmed at the end of 2018 could be delayed as a result of the National Children’s Hospital overspend.

The price tag for the hospital rose from €650m in 2016 to €1.7bn last year.

Sinn Fein’s David Cullinane says the Minister for Health knows how important the Cath Lab is in Waterford, and that there’s no point in signing off on designs if there’s no money for the project.

Meanwhile, Waterford Minister of State John Halligan says he has received further assurances that provision of the second lab will not be affected by the increased cost of the new National Children’s Hospital.

In a statement, he says that capital funding for the provision of the new lab is to be provided in the HSE’s Capital Plan for 2019.

Minister Halligan says Simon Harris has also reiterated that the increased cost of the National Children’s Hospital will not have any consequence for the UHW project.