Draft resolution "Proposal to the Government of the Republic of Estonia to allocate funds for co-financing Tallinna Hospital" (498 OE) – First Reading
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
Date: 2025-01-15 16:25
Total Speeches: 65
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 1h 25m
AI Summaries: 65/65 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The Riigikogu discussed draft resolution 498 submitted by the Riigikogu group of the Centre Party, which proposed that the Government of the Republic allocate funds for the co-financing of Tallinn Hospital. Presenter Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart emphasized the critical need for the construction of a new, modern medical city, citing the depreciation of existing hospital buildings and the need to improve the health care system's resilience. She sharply criticized the Reform Party's 2022 decision to withdraw 280 million euros from the European Union recovery fund for the project, calling it political sabotage. The Centre Party and the Tallinn City Government have proposed a financing model in which Tallinn covers the larger portion of the costs (550 million euros), on the condition that the state contributes the national taxes generated from the investment (estimated at 300 million euros).
Representative Irja Lutsar (Estonia 200) from the Leadership Committee and Tanel Kiik, representative of the Social Democratic Party, fundamentally supported the construction of Tallinn Hospital, but emphasized the need for a systemic reform that would also include the merging of North Estonia Regional Hospital (PERH) and the development of both medical cities (Mustamäe and Lasnamäe). They criticized the draft's politicization and noted that the need for funding is not immediate. A majority of the Riigikogu membership (51 votes) was required to pass the draft. The draft did not find support in the final vote.
Decisions Made 1
The Riigikogu rejected the draft resolution 498 presented by the Centre Party faction in the final vote (13 in favor, 1 against). The required majority of the Riigikogu's composition to pass the bill was not achieved.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker was Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart (Center Party faction, left), who presented the bill and repeatedly answered questions, defending the project’s necessity and criticizing its politicization.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
At the second item on the agenda, the Riigikogu decision draft No. 498 submitted by the Estonian Centre Party faction will be introduced, which aims to allocate funds for the co-financing of Tallinn Hospital, and the presentation will be given by Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvarti.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart emphasizes that the Tallinn Hospital project is essential for creating a modern medical campus equipped with infection control, hospital beds, and better working conditions, which increase the accessibility of medical services and the motivation of staff, and for its realization there is a need for close cooperation between the state and the City of Tallinn, where the state will repay the national taxes collected from the investment and Tallinn will cover the remaining 550 million euros, taking into account the loss of the 2022 EU grant, regional morbidity, and aging of the population.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi thanked you, said that there are still a few questions, and asked Vadim Belobrovtsev to come.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The message of the presentation is that Tallinn Hospital is a nationwide and very necessary project for all of Northern Estonia, but it has become politicized, and the distinction between policy and politics is now difficult.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart emphasizes that the termination of funding for the Tallinn Hospital and the lack of cooperation between the state and the city demonstrate the primacy of political interests over the interests of residents, and that education and healthcare should be free from politics, while in the 2025 budget funds have not been found for this project and an amendment proposal has been submitted.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Andrei Korobeinik has been invited to perform.
Andrei Korobeinik
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Korobeinik compares the Roosevelt-era principle of reviving the economy through large infrastructure projects and notes that in Estonia large projects have been postponed (the four-lane Via Baltica, the Haapsalu railway terminus at Turba stop, Tallinn Hospital), which leaves the economy without a lifeline.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart emphasizes that recovery funds and European Union resources have been used for several major projects, including the construction of the Haapsalu railway, but the coalition does not offer a clear and transparent economic policy or concrete growth programs. The availability of healthcare has deteriorated due to rising costs and fees, and the construction of the Tallinn hospital could be a unified, pro-growth consensus point.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy chairman Toomas Kivimägi asks that Irja Lutsar come on stage.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
Thank you, I agree with the presenter that this topic has dragged on, and my question is whether the Centre Party's proposal regarding Tallinn's Joint Hospital is still the same as it was years ago, or do you plan to change it, taking into account what is happening in the world and the development of medicine, using the Tallinn Joint Hospital project as an example.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart said that the Tallinn Hospital project is being processed as a draft decision along with the budget, in order to increase flexibility and give the city and the government more opportunities to negotiate with each other, and she stressed that this is not a bill, but a proposal, whose aim is to take the first steps from discussion to action and to find a new vision with the support of coalition partners.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi invites Vladimir Arhipov to speak.
Vladimir Arhipov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Vladimir Arhipov was saddened that the construction of Tallinn Hospital is being politicized, and that free healthcare does not solve long waiting lists, but the new hospital could alleviate them and be useful for both Tallinn and its surrounding areas.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi thanks the audience and announces that the time is up.
Vladimir Arhipov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
They ask how funding is allocated between the state, the Tallinn City Government, and the possible European Union structural funds.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
In the presentation, it was corrected that Jevgeni Ossinovski is no longer on the Tallinn Hospital Council, and in his place Tanel Kiik was listed, and although European Union funds have been suspended, no new negotiations have taken place, and Tallinn is ready to build the hospital even without funding, seeking 300 million from the state and 550 million from Tallinn, which have been proposed by both the previous and the current city government.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
They address Kersti Sarapuu with a request.
Kersti Sarapuu
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Kersti Sarapuu criticizes the reduction of structural funds for hospital and railway projects during the Reform Party's tenure, and notes that EU funds have disappeared and that the state must now fund them itself, and asks whether there are plans to form a new commission that would develop a hospital construction plan based on newer technology.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
In the city council meeting, the focus was primarily on budget funds: funding has been found for the project, and the expert commission is formed through the members of the Tallinn Hospital Council; the mayor and the health minister are in favor of it, and the Social Democrats' support in the Riigikogu depends on this, but the uncertainty of funding may reduce motivation, which is why this draft bill is very important.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speech is simply an invitation for Lauri Laatsi to perform.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats points out that both in the city and in the country the hospital construction issue is a political game, where decisions are made according to coalition or opposition positions, and the Reform Party is accused of meddling.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart expressed continued hope that the bill would receive approval in the Riigikogu and that the Social Democrats and the coalition would lend it their united support, since it concerns a matter relating to the state budget and Tallinn Hospital's political stance.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi asked Valdo Randpere to speak.
Valdo Randpere
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Valdo Randpere accuses the Centre Party of having been going around for years and criticizing the Reform Party's monopoly on power, citing a line about looking in the mirror from Mihhail Kõlvart's 2022 Postimees interview, and notes that their reasonable and lenient period is over, referring to the suspension of funding for the hospital project and to problems with deadlines.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
This was a short expression of thanks.
Valdo Randpere
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Valdo Randpere emphasizes that the hospital would not have been ready by that time without this money, and asks whether this money is remembered or whether it has completely slipped from memory.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
I am critical of the coalition's actions in 2022, but I want to emphasize that the Tallinn Hospital project and its funding through the European Commission were important to the people, and it would have been wrong to draw a line under this, because the hospital was desired by the people and by healthcare workers.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speaker turns to Aleksei Jevgrafovi and asks him to take the floor.
Aleksei Jevgrafov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Large projects, such as the Tallinn Hospital, provide a boost to the economy and improve the quality of healthcare; are well-known doctors and the leaders of Estonian hospitals for or against it?
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart emphasizes that for the construction of Tallinn Hospital it is important to have expert support, as well as modern conditions and new technologies, so that young people stay in Estonia and help address the critical shortage of healthcare professionals.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, thanked and asked Irja Lutsar, a member of the Social Committee, to present the Steering Committee's decisions and the most important positions.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
According to the presenter, the aim of unifying Tallinn's hospital network is the replacement of depreciated hospital buildings and the consolidation of services through the construction of two medical campuses—Mustamäe and Lasnamäe—but the form of the decisions, funding and the exact service profile still need to be clarified, and the draft is planned to be brought to the plenary for discussion and voting on 21 November 2024.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman thanks you and informs you that there are still a few questions, and asks Lauri Laats to answer.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats asks a co-author for their opinion on the need to build a super-hospital, how quickly it could be completed, and whether the creation of such a large hospital would form an additional centre of competence that Estonian medicine desperately needs.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
This is my personal opinion: The Tallinn medical network needs modernization, the roles of the Mustamäe and Lasnamäe districts must be clearly thought through, and the placement of obstetric and surgical care services that are closely linked should be considered in order to avoid a situation where a hospital is completed and only afterwards is it remodeled — and to learn from Tallinn's mistakes.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi invited Vadim Belobrovtsev onto the stage.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
They ask what to do so that the construction of the Tallinn Hospital would come to fruition and would remain a medical, not a political objective.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
Irja Lutsar compares the English practice of defending doctoral theses, where about half defend on the first attempt and the rest are allowed to correct their mistakes and defend again, which for many leads to a better thesis, and she sees this as a way to find the best solution for Tallinn.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi invited Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart to speak.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart emphasized that the merger of Tallinn's hospitals and PERH's legal entities will not ultimately solve the problem, and staff motivation will decline, because employees do not see a real perspective from the merger or from the new campus project, and she asks what the current sentiment is.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
Irja Lutsar emphasized that hospitals should not be merged merely legally or physically, but first consolidate the services – especially laboratories – and create a plan in line with the profile of a new hospital, and then gradually implement the merger, similar to the model used in Tartu.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi invited Vladimir Arhipov to speak.
Vladimir Arhipov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Vladimir Arhipov expresses the Centre Party's continued optimism regarding the construction of Tallinn Hospital and believes that the people will soon pass judgment at the elections on the deeds done, and asks how long the construction could take and when the people of Northern Estonia will be able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
Irja Lutsar emphasizes that her field is medical science, and although everyone has opinions about both medicine and construction, she does not share her opinion on construction, because she knows nothing about it, and apologizes for not being able to answer the question.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy chairman Toomas Kivimägi invited Andrei Korobeiniku to the tribune.
Andrei Korobeinik
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Korobeinik thanks the chair of the meeting, notes a constructive attitude toward the project's future, believes that Tanel Kiik will certainly deliver a supportive speech, mentions that there are allegedly three parties in the coalition, and, glancing at Toomas, asks whether the whole problem lies with the Reform Party and whether they do not want the Tallinn Hospital, asking for a refutation.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
Irja Lutsar emphasized that the Reform Party is not anti-medicine, and that their aim is for Tallinn Hospital to be connected to the general medical system, and for primary care not to be neglected, because most people need primary care in particular.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, asks that the floor be given to Kalle Grünthal.
Kalle Grünthal
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Kalle Grünthal posed a very short question: why doesn't anyone want better health for the Estonian people, when the draft offers better possibilities for improving health, and he asked for an answer that would begin with the sentence “The reason is that …”.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
They emphasize that the people of Estonia, especially the people of Tallinn, deserve a better hospital; therefore the Tallinn Integrated Hospital must be put into operation first, and the entire process must be thoroughly discussed, and the hospital must be built in such a way that it could withstand a century or more, rather than be built quickly and let it fall behind the times.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Now a question from someone from Tartu is being presented, and it is requested that Tanel Tein take the floor.
Tanel Tein
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
He asks for the opportunity to collaborate with private healthcare, pointing out that in private healthcare things are more efficient than in large hospitals, and tests and blood transfusions can be as much as 30% cheaper, and asks how large a share of the role of a major hospital private healthcare could already fill today and whether that is even necessary.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
Irja Lutsar stressed that private medicine has its place, but Estonia needs a robust public healthcare system, and hospitals must not start competing for profit, because a strong public system ensures better care and a better ability to cope in a pandemic.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi thanked, announced that there were no questions, opened negotiations, and asked for Tanel Kiik on behalf of the Social Democratic Party faction.
Tanel Kiik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Tanel Kiik asks whether the motion of no confidence is driven by sincere concern or whether it is the exploitation of the political situation based on an old interview, which the minister has since contradicted with his actions.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speech expresses great gratitude and gives the floor to Irja Lutsar on behalf of the Eesti 200 faction.
Irja Lutsar
Profiling Eesti 200 fraktsioonAI Summary
Eesti 200 notes that the construction of Tallinn's new hospital is a worthy idea to support, but before that it must be clearly agreed upon the future of Tallinn's hospital network, the owners' expectations, and the roles and allocation of specialties of the Lasnamäe and Mustamäe medical campuses, so that the new hospital would be regional and a learning base, taking into account demographic changes, new treatment methods, and lessons from the pandemic, and to critically review old plans.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
They thank everyone and request the floor on behalf of Lauri Laats of the Estonian Centre Party faction.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats emphasizes the necessity of Tallinn Hospital and, for the sake of people’s well-being, calls for an end to political plunder and invites the parties to a unified, future-oriented cooperation, so as to reverse the 2022 decision on European Commission funding and bring the hospital project to completion.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
He asked for three more minutes.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats called in his speech for joint support for a large medical campus project, the taxes of which could be directed back to the hospital and which would provide employment, turnover and tax revenue to both the city and the state.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi thanked you, closed the negotiations, and noted that Tõnis Mölder will present a question to the chair of the session.
Tõnis Mölder
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Mölder explained that the idea of Tallinn Hospital dates back to 2000, when Swedish researchers drew up Estonia's hospital development plan and the Lasnamäe hospital was mentioned for the first time, and 15 years later Edgar Savisaar brought it back onto the agenda.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi stressed that although this was a substantive commentary and the factions had no opportunity to participate in the negotiations, no amendments were submitted, and the leading committee recommends conducting a final vote on Bill 498, the adoption of which requires the votes of the Riigikogu as a whole, and in which they are asked to take a position and vote on the Riigikogu decision submitted by the Estonian Centre Party faction, “Proposal to the Government of the Republic to allocate funds for the co-financing of Tallinn Hospital” Bill 498.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Bill 498 was rejected; 13 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of it, 1 voted against, and 0 abstentions.