Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am disappointed, however, that we have not been given any timescale. The site has been identified and a deal has been on the table with Dublin City Council which bought the land from the church. It is ready to go. I was concerned Covid was one of the reasons for the delay. However, we need to advance this. There is no point in continuing the way we are. People in the community have mental health issues, small injuries and need to access a dentist but we have not even had a GP service in that area for the past 20 years. It is a shame that with the large population of this community we have not even got that service.

Obviously, the site is subject to planning. I am hopeful it will prove to be a prime site for a primary care centre. There are many plans for the site including a senior citizens centre, a new church, a Tusla office along with other community facilities. We need definite dates now, however. It is a greenfield site and can be built on without delay. We really need to push this forward. It has been too long in the pipeline and is badly needed by the people. North Finglas has one of the largest populations of older people. We need health facilities for the elderly such as physios, as well as facilities for young people. I am asking that this project be pushed ahead as quickly as possible and pressure put on the HSE to do so.

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