Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)

I first congratulate Deputy O'Reilly on her appointment as Chair of the petitions committee. I served on that committee for eight years and I wish her well because it is an extraordinarily important committee of the Houses.

I hear the Deputy's concerns and I thank her for raising the matter. As the former chair of the health committee, I understand fully the Deputy's articulation of the issues surrounding the provision of primary care and healthcare. The Minister for Health has asked me to convey to the Deputy her apologies for not being here, to thank the Deputy for raising these matters and for the opportunity to update the Dáil on the provision of primary care services in Fingal West and, in particular, Balbriggan Primary Care Centre. I have taken note of the comments the Deputy has made and I will bring them back.

The area of Fingal west is located in the integrated health area of Dublin north county and delivers a wide variety of integrated community and primary care services to meet the health needs of the local population. The health and social care services currently available in Balbriggan Primary Care Centre, PCC, include primary care therapy services and community specialist teams for older people, alongside a chronic disease hub.

Disability services located in Balbriggan PCC also include the children’s disability network team. There are two community mental health teams in the primary care centre which accommodates the second highest attended CAMHS clinic in 2024. In addition, several social inclusion services operate from Balbriggan PCC, including a social inclusion liaison officer, a Roma clinic and the north Fingal community development project. A central objective of the programme for Government is to deliver increased levels of integrated health and social care with service delivery re-oriented towards general practice, primary care and community-based services to enable a “home first” approach.

It is acknowledged – as the Deputy has rightly said - that the Balbriggan area has grown significantly in recent years, with the population increasing by 12% between 2016 and 2022. Among towns with more than 10,000 people, Balbriggan is the youngest town in Ireland with a diverse population. The Minister is committed to building capacity in primary care, as outlined in the programme for Government, by recruiting additional staff numbers, promoting advanced practice roles in the community for health and social care professionals and increasing the number of college training places for health and social care professions. The Minister for Health acknowledges there are challenges, particularly with local vacancies articulated by the Deputy in her comments here this afternoon, which are impacting the waiting times for access to services.

The establishment of the HSE’s six health regions means services can plan and deliver around the specific needs of people in each area. Each of the health regions has its own budget, leadership team and responsibility for local decision-making and continuing to work towards the Sláintecare objectives. Each of the six health regions and each national service has been provided with a specified number of whole-time equivalents in terms of staffing and can replace, recruit and prioritise staff within that approved number. This has provided the health regions with further control to focus resources where there is the greatest need and greater capacity for decision-making at a local level regarding prioritisation and filling of available posts.

As I said, I will take Deputy O’Reilly’s points back. I know some of the points she raised have not been addressed in the reply I have given and I accept that. I am here on behalf of the Minister, as the Deputy will understand but I will take the points she has made back to the Minister regarding idle spaces and the lack of delivery. She is right; there is a need to urgently expedite the whole issue of primary care in many of our emerging towns and the area she has mentioned is one.

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