The Mater Hospital in Dublin will officially open a new nine-story building today.

The new building will be called the ‘The Rock Wing’ – and has been designed, built and delivered in under two years under emergency COVID legislation.

The building contains 98 beds, including 16 Intensive Care beds, spread across single rooms to prevent the spread of disease.

The building is also home to the new National Isolation Unit, which is based at the Mater.

Infectious diseases consultant Professor Jack Lambert said the facility is long overdue.

“I think the most important part of it is to have quality rooms and quality facilities that can manage rare cases that come to Ireland,” he said.

“Ebola being an example of those kinds of infections.”

The Rock Wing will cater for an additional 5,000 patients a year in what Dr Lambert described as first-class facilities.

It will provide specialist care for infectious diseases and will have a key role in any future pandemic.

The Taoiseach and senior ministers will officially open the new wing this afternoon.