Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for that positive news. It is important. Carlow town is bigger than Kilkenny city. Central Statistics Office figures for the most recent census show that the population of Carlow town has grown by nearly 9% to nearly 28,000, while Kilkenny city has a population of 27,500. The Minister has given me good news, which I welcome, but we need to have our own services. I spoke to the HSE about having an injury clinic, and I have also spoken to the Minister about that several times. We have a huge facility in St. Dympna's Hospital in Carlow. The X-ray unit operates part time but it should be full time. We need to look at the services there. Carlow is not competing with Kilkenny but the town is growing rapidly and needs its own services.

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