Initial designs for an extension to the Emergency Department at Cavan General Hospital have been received by the Department of Health.
The current ED has been described as "cramped and old fashioned" and the extension is expected to significantly increase the space.
Local Senator Joe O'Reilly raised the issue in the Seanad, where Junior Health Minister Frank Feighan said work on the planning for the extension of the ED is continuing.
The current ED has capacity for 10 patients and Senator O'Reilly told the Seanad the cramped space had compounded the situation with Covid-19 in the hospital.
The project would include a second resuscitation room, other clinical spaces and a new waiting room.
Minister Feighan said the design team will be taking the lessons learned during the pandemic into account: