Opposition PS and KDH Convening Several House Committees over Presov Hospital

        Bratislava, 11 June (TASR) - The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party and the Christian Democrats (KDH) are jointly convening sessions of the parliamentary health committee, the committee overseeing Military Intelligence activities, and the defence and security committee, representatives of the parties told a press conference in Parliament on Thursday, adding this is due to the still-unclear information regarding the construction of Presov military hospital.
        PS vice-chairman and head of the committee overseeing Military Intelligence activities Tomas Valasek pointed to statements made by Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) that certain aspects of Presov military hospital are operating under classified conditions. "But that doesn't mean that the minister can evade parliamentary scrutiny. Within our committee, we can discuss precisely those matters that are classified. We must and will pay special attention to this hospital," stressed Valasek.
        Vice-chair of the House health committee Oskar Dvorak (PS) highlighted five areas of failure at the Presov hospital. "The first two issues are the botched public procurement processes and the shoddy construction work itself, which will be delayed by an unknown amount of time. The third issue is the hospital's unbelievable cost overrun, and we still have no answers as to how high the final price tag will be. Questions also remain regarding the overpriced and incompetent construction supervision. The fifth issue we'll be asking about is the financing of the hospital itself. There is €200 million in unspent funds from the recovery plan hanging in the air, and the minister isn't answering what will happen to it," said Dvorak, adding that these are among the reasons why they are calling for Kalinak's dismissal.
        MP Frantisek Majersky (KDH) pointed out at the press conference that Kalinak is refusing to engage in discussions with health-care experts and is avoiding discussions about the Presov hospital. The opposition has therefore decided to hold the minister to his word, as he himself has previously stated that he had no problem inviting lawmakers and experts to hospital. The goal is to move the discussions directly to the region and assess the situation on the ground.
        Construction of the military hospital in Presov began at the turn of 2025 and 2026. Since then, part of the building has been completed. Defence Minister Robert Kalinak announced the suspension of construction at the end of April this year to inspect the quality of work on the building's load-bearing elements. After the contract with the previous contractor was terminated, a new group of companies took over the project. The ministry announced a public tender for the second phase. The opposition has repeatedly criticised the government's approach to the construction of the new hospital.