Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We come to Clifden near the end. It gets four lines. I ask the Minister of State to go back and inquire of the HSE, through the Department, whether it is intended to develop Clifden District Hospital as a full primary care centre. I want a full primary care centre plus things like X-ray facilities and so on because of the distance from Galway and because the hospital is there already and has been paid for by the State. If I could get that much out of today I would be making some progress. There was planning permission for a health centre on Inishbofin. I often wonder what would have happened had it been built. For some reason the HSE decided the site was not suitable after getting planning permission and it went up on the airport site. I tell the HSE and the Government that it just is not acceptable that these things take 14 years. There was a compulsory purchase done on that site in favour of Galway County Council and I cannot for the life of me see how it has taken 14 years to sort out the Inishbofin site. It is absolutely ridiculous how long things are taking.

I have visited the Renvyle health centre. It is totally inadequate. It does not have the rooms. It does not have the physical space. I am someone who grew up in Dublin and then moved to the west. Imagine telling the people of the area of Dublin I grew up in that they had to go 60 km to get to a primary care centre. Of course, it is good enough for the people on the periphery. How are the people from the offshore islands meant to get as far as Uachtar Ard? There are reasonable services from Clifden. The journey can at least be made by taxi.

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