The emergency department at St Columcille's Hospital in South Dublin is due to be closed down next month, according to a timetable drawn up by the HSE earlier this year.

According to a report presented to the HSE board in February, the transfer of 24-hour ED services from Loughlinstown Hospital to St Vincent's is due to take place around eight weeks after the publication of Health Minister James Reilly's report on the reorganisation of hospital services.

This report was published in mid-May which would mean that, according to the HSE timetable, St Columcille's ED is due to be closed around mid-July.

The HSE report, released under FOI, said the Loughlinstown ED would remain in operation as it stood until capacity at St Vincent's demonstrated its ability to accept the care of acutely ill patients transferred from St Columcille's.

The HSE said it would require eight weeks lead in time after the publication of the hosital reorganisation report and clarity about the hospital network to fully reconfigure hosital services in south-east Dublin.

It is planned that St Columcille's ED will close shortly and will be replaced by a local injuries unit.

The HSE report said local representatives 'up to and including' Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore, had been kept informed of developments about the hospital reconfiguration in the area.

The report updated progress on the reconfiguration of services in smaller hospitals following on from the recommendations of the HIQA safety reports into Ennis and Mallow Hospitals.

The report says morale has improved at Roscommon Hospital, following the controversial closure of its ED and the introduction of new services at the hospital.

It notes, however, that there is still a very active lobbying group campaigning locally for the re-opening of Roscommon's ED.