Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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It is more than ten years since Finglas was promised a primary care centre. A comprehensive study by the HSE and other services was carried out. It identified the urgent need to deliver a primary care centre in the north and west of Finglas. At the time, Finglas was the top priority on the list, ahead of Cabra and Blanchardstown primary care centres which were built a couple of years ago. We were also told there was no issue with regard to funding.

A site was identified and received permission from Dublin City Council, but on appeal to An Bord Pleanála the project was shot down for various reasons. A couple of years later, another site was identified, known as the Church of the Annunciation site. It was planned to build approximately 100 senior citizen accommodation units, wrapped around a new church – the old church is to be demolished – as well as a Tusla building and new primary care centre.

Finglas has a large urban population of approximately 32,000 people at present. The population only started to increase in the past number of years. In north and west Finglas, the population is one of the oldest in Europe and well above the national average. There has not been a GP in the area for more than 20 years. A new primary care centre is needed to deal with minor injuries and provide social care, mental health, GP and other services for the local community. This will also help to alleviate pressure on local hospitals such as Connolly, the Mater and Beaumont.

On the Church of the Annunciation site, an area was identified for this project well over five years ago. However, planners were not happy with accessibility. Since then, negotiations have been entered into with the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, CDETB, which runs the two schools, Coláiste Eoin and Coláiste Íde, on land attached to the side. Agreement has now been reached, but the land has still not been transferred. We were also told this would be concluded in the second quarter of this year. Part of the agreement would also include a provision for an all-weather pitch for the schools.

The people of Finglas are angry that the new primary care centre identified more than ten years ago by the HSE as urgent has not been given the priority and attention required. The people are concerned that the provision of funding for the project has not been clarified by the HSE and Minister for Health. Can the Minister of State provide assurances that funding is available and that there will be no further delays?

I have been dealing with this issue since the project's inception. It is unacceptable that it has not been addressed. I was recently told a design team had been appointed and that the transfer of land would be sorted. This was one of the pillars associated with Sláintecare . The roll-out of primary care centres across the country was something the Minister made an awful lot of fuss about.

The people of Finglas have been badly let down, in particular the elderly who are looking forward to the services to be provided, including services that would help them with their daily lives such as getting therapy and other such things. We now need a commitment to deliver and not prevaricate any longer. Let us move this forward.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Ellis for giving me the opportunity to update the House on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, who is unfortunately unavailable.

One of the objectives of the programme for Government is to deliver increased levels of integrated health care with service delivery reoriented towards general practice, primary care and community-based services to enable a home first approach. Primary care centres play an essential role in the delivery of that objective and significant progress has been made in the delivery of these centres nationally. These centres support the delivery of integrated care by facilitating closer co-ordination and co-operation between health professionals from across different disciplines. They also provide a single point of access to services for the individual and can serve as a resource more broadly for the community.

There are currently 167 primary care centres in operation throughout the country, with a further 13 under construction. The Finglas primary care centre will be located on a block of land between Cappagh Road, Cardiffsbridge Road, Wellmount Avenue and Fergal’s Lane. These lands offer an opportunity to provide and enhance facilities for the local community in Finglas. The vision for the whole site is to provide a new church and parish centre, housing provision, new sporting facilities for the CDETB, local schools and, of course, the new primary care centre.

The stakeholders involved have been the Dublin archdiocese, Dublin City Council, the HSE, the CDETB, local schools and the public. Fruitful stakeholder engagement has led to agreements between Dublin City Council, the HSE and CDETB on the preferred option for all parties in regard to access and land ownership.

Finglas has long been identified as a priority location for the development of a primary care centre due to the population level, care requirements for the community and the HSE Sláintecare programme, which will provide care for patients closer to their homes. Finglas primary care centre is included in the capital programme for 2023. A design team has been engaged for the project. The preliminary design stage 1 report is expected to be completed by end of quarter 2 this year. The legal process to transfer the land is in progress and the HSE is engaging with all parties to complete the necessary property transactions. It is anticipated this process will be concluded in the second half of 2023, which will facilitate further progress through design and planning stages of the project, including the submission of the planning application.

On completion of the legal process to transfer the land, the HSE will be able to give a further update on the status of the primary care centre in Finglas. More than 50,000 people will be serviced by this primary care centre. The site’s location will provide for more easily accessible pathways to care for people currently residing in the area and new residents who will move into the proposed housing development.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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As the Minister of State said, this is a fantastic place. The Church of Annunciation has been there for many years. It will be pulled down. The site is very large. It is in the heart of Finglas. I do not know why we cannot decide that this project can move ahead much more quickly. The Minister of State referred to the second quarter of this year. We are in the second quarter of this year. We are talking about a design team, but we do not even have that.

I always thought there were prototypes, and visited one elsewhere in the country built by the HSE. Whether those prototypes are suitable for this site, is having to go through a design team absolutely necessary? Surely a prototype could be adopted for the site, which is quite large.

The Minister of State is correct about the population in north and west Finglas being older. Many people in the area, including my mother, have passed away and have not been able to avail of this centre because this has been going on for ten years. We were number one on the list, well ahead of many primary care centres the Minister of State mentioned. We ran into a bit of trouble, but that should not have stopped us. We should have moved ahead. I need a commitment that this will be done, and I want to know how long it will take and whether the funding is in place. It should not be the case that when the design is completed, we will see about the funding. I want to hear whether the funding is there.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his response and his concern for his constituents and the wider Finglas area. As quite clearly stated in the reply, the design team has been engaged. It is now working on the design of the site. According to the reply, it will encompass huge change for the locality in terms of the dynamics of the site and what is included. The Minister said the ownership issue will be resolved quickly this year. As Deputy Ellis rightly pointed out, we are into the second quarter of the year and I hope it will be next month. Both of the issues should be moving on. It is also included in the capital programme for 2023. The budget line is there for it.

I accept and understand Deputy Ellis's frustration on the capacity to deliver infrastructural projects such as this. It can be very frustrating when going through the process of design, tender and procurement. As Deputy Ellis rightly pointed out, others have got there. From reading the reply, I know this is a significant site and I will relate to the Minister for Health Deputy Ellis's concerns about the timelines. I hope they will be stuck to.