The Beacon Medical Group has dismissed a recent complaint lodged to the Competition Authority in Limerick and insisted it will have no bearing on the outcome of the rescheduled An Bord Pleanála oral hearing in Cork.

The complaint was lodged by a Limerick-based consultant obstetrician who has asked the authority to investigate claims that a monopoly situation will be created by the building of a co-located hospital on the grounds of Limerick Regional Hospital.

It is the latest obstacle to the controversial co-location plans agreed between Beacon, the Health Service Executive and the Department of Health, although BMG remain confident that plans for their proposed €242 million co-located private hospital on the grounds of Cork University Hospital, will still go ahead.

A spokesperson for the group, Pauline Cullen, told the Cork Independent, "This complaint to the Competition Authority is totally without merit and, we believe, personally motivated. Any patient with private healthcare can choose to be treated by either the private or public sector. It's also important to note that Limerick has, in fact, other private hospitals so any claims of a monopoly are completely unfounded".

The rescheduled hearing is now set to take place at the Cork International Hotel on Tuesday, September 23. Although BMG have expressed confidence in the eventual outcome, Cork City Council may come under fire for the way it handled the pre-planning meetings if the case goes to a judicial review.

The Ombudsman has already sought an explanation from Cork City Council in relation to a supposed breach of public rights under the Planning and Development Act, when the council failed to produce the minutes of the pre-planning meeting on time to members of the public.

Mick Murphy, Green Party spokesperson for Cork City South West, is part of the party's team that will be giving a submission to the hearing. He says, "The City Council breached planning and development laws by not making the minutes of the pre-planning meeting available to myself. As a result I was not given sufficient time to lodge a formal complaint. Kevin Terry of Cork City Council has written to me confirming the breach of planning laws and if the case goes to a judicial review then the council are opened to the point of law. And ff this happens then the Council will have no choice but to stand up and be counted".

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