Seanad debates
Thursday, 16 May 2024
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Primary Care Centres
9:30 am
Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Minister of State, Deputy Burke to the Chamber. The first Commencement matter is in the name of Senator Murphy.
Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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Go raibh maith ag an Leas-Chathaoirleach. Ar an gcéad dul síos, cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Burke. He is welcome to the House to take this Commencement matter, which is a matter of great importance to me personally and to the community in Ballaghaderreen on the Roscommon and Mayo border. However, it is definitely in County Roscommon.
I know the Minister of State will probably tell me there are issues with this particular project to get a primary care centre into the town of Ballaghaderreen, however, I await his initial response. I point out that the town of Ballaghaderreen has had a significant increase in population over recent years. I was looking at some figures with a party colleague, Mr. Aidan Sampey, who has been raising this issue with me. It is fair to say there has been an increase in the population of Ballaghaderreen of between 40% to 50% over the past seven or eight years. Ballaghaderreen is a very proud town and it is very community-oriented. It has taken in many migrants over the years. It made national news on numerous occasions when it took in the Syrian people. It has taken in Nigerians, Ukrainians, people from Somalia and other places as well. Of course, there is a vibrant Irish community in the Ballaghaderreen area as well. It is crucial that despite whatever roadblocks there are, we take this project very seriously and get it established in the town of Ballaghaderreen.
There are two doctors in the town and they are under pressure. Their patients are under pressure. We need to up the health service in the Ballaghaderreen area. One of the doctors, Dr. Garvey, offered his own site to the authorities to establish that particular primary care centre. We certainly need to improve the services there because of the flood of people into the town and there are a significant amount of families in the region as well. It would be a wonderful statement to the local community were we able to put this project forward. Obviously, it is not going to happen overnight but we need to lay the foundation now and deal with the problems that are there. I know there are problems there that have to be dealt with. It is very important that we move on boldly on this particular project and that we do whatever we have to do to get that project over the line and get it established in the next few years, if we can.
As I said at the outset, this is a project that is badly needed in the town of Ballaghaderreen and in the wider west Roscommon area. There are places like Tibohine, Lisacul and Gortaganny, which are in a very rural area of west Roscommon. Many of the people in those rural areas would travel to Ballaghaderreen as their local town. I will not delay any further as I have made the case, plain and simple. I await the response. Whatever comes out of this today, I hope it will become an absolute priority for the HSE to start working seriously on dealing with the problems that are there in order to move this project on.
In conclusion, this was first initiated as far back as around 2012 and it has not come to fruition. I await the Minister of State's answer with interest.
Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, I would like to thank Senator Murphy for raising this matter and for the opportunity to update the House.
A central objective of the programme for Government is to deliver increased levels of integrated healthcare with service delivery reoriented towards general practice, primary care and community-based services to enable a “home first" approach. Integral to this, is the development of primary care centres across the country in our local communities. Primary care centres provide important primary care infrastructure, providing a single point of access to services for the individual. They also serve as a resource more broadly for the community, creating a focal point for local health initiatives or providing community groups with a place to meet. It is for this reason that the development of primary care centres is an important part of Sláintecare. Significant progress has been made in the delivery of these primary care centres, with 174 opened to date and a further ten in construction. These primary care centres offer a tangible example of the investment this Government is making in community-based health infrastructure.
The operational lease model is often the preferred model for developing primary care centres as it has the potential to offer better value for money and enable streamlined delivery of projects.Under the model the HSE enters into fixed-term leases with developers. The HSE identifies the locations requiring primary care centres and invites interested parties to express their interest in providing suitable accommodation by way of public notice in local and or national press. The primary care centre in Ballaghaderreenis being delivered by way of this operational lease model. As such, the HSE had identified a preferred provider for the centre and discussions were progressing regarding lease agreements. Unfortunately, the preferred provider of the new primary care centre in Ballaghaderreenhas indicated a potential issue regarding the viability of the project. Subsequently, engagement has taken place between the HSE and the preferred provider to seek clarification regarding the viability and timeframe for the delivery of this project. However, should the preferred provider be unable to proceed, the HSE has reassured the Minister, Deputy Donnelly that it will be clarifying all options to deliver a primary care centre in the area. In this regard the Minister wishes to reassure the Senator that this Government remains committed to the provision of the primary care centre in Ballaghaderreenand remains committed to the continued development of primary care centres throughout the country.
Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an tAire Stáit for quite an upfront and straight reply to the issue. Certainly all is not lost, I am glad we have a Minister of State from the Department of Health dealing with this issue this morning. I appreciate that as I know Deputy Burke will have a good understanding of what I am talking about. I ask that he go back to the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, on this because, as a result of the huge increase in population, we need to look at other options if necessary to ensure delivery of a primary care centre. Costs have been spiralling out of control, I fully accept that. This creates a challenge for Government in terms of public expenditure and finance. We do need to push on with this and I hope the Minister of State will take back a message that we can look at the proposal again, do what needs to be done and get this project up and running. It would be very much welcomed by the community in that part of County Roscommon.
Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Minister I would like to again thank the Senator for raising this matter and creating the opportunity to update the House. The Minister recognises the frustration of the people of Ballaghaderreen who are waiting for the development of this new primary care centre. As noted, the HSE is engaging with developers to seek clarification regarding the viability of the undertaking. The HSE has also asked for a timeframe for the delivery of the project. Should the preferred provider be unable to proceed the HSE has reassured the Minister that it will be exploring all options to deliver a new primary care centre in this area. This is a problem that has arisen in a number of places across the country now, it is not just Ballaghaderreen. As noted in my opening statement, there has been significant positive progress in developing primary care centres nationally. There are now 174 primary care centres operational throughout the country and another ten currently under construction. The Minister wishes to assure the Senator that both he and the other officials in the Department of Health are actively engaging with the HSE in order to ensure the continued development of primary care centres throughout the country, including in Ballaghaderreen.
Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. The next Commencement matter is from Senator Mícheál Carrigy and the Minister will be staying with us for that.