Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I am pleased to have the opportunity to reply on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with an opportunity to outline to the House the position regarding the community hospital in Ballinamore, County Leitrim.

In 2001 the former North Western Health Board carried out a consultation and planning process for service developments in the south Leitrim area. An assessment of utilisation of residential services in south Leitrim by older people, including physical infrastructure, formed a core part of the process. The recommendations from this comprehensive review indicated that while the level of residential services, including home and community based services in the south Leitrim area, was adequate, existing infrastructure was significantly inadequate for modern service delivery. The former workhouse facility at Carrick-on-Shannon and St. Patrick's Hospital in particular, need to be replaced with a new purpose-built residential services such as the development proposed for Ballinamore and a new unit in Carrick-on-Shannon which would ensure an accessible service for people in the eastern part of the region.

The Ballinamore project incorporates a 20-bed care managing nursing unit as well as a primary care centre. The project is an approved project in the 2006 to 2010 capital plan of the HSE. A design team has been appointed to carry out the development control plan on the site acquired by the former North Western Health Board. This process commenced in September of this year and involves consultation with Leitrim County Council. The HSE anticipates that this stage will be completed by the end of the year. The next stage will be the procurement of design consultants which should be completed by the first quarter of 2007. The HSE has stated that construction is expected to start late next year.