Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, who asked me to thank the Senator for raising the issue and welcomes the opportunity to provide an update to the House on this matter.

The ongoing development of both community and primary care is at the core of the Sláintecare vision to deliver increased levels of integrated health care, with service delivery reoriented towards general practice, primary care and community-based services. The Government is committed to ensuring people are provided with the care they need as close as possible to their homes. Primary care centres offer a tangible example of the investment the Government is making in community-based health infrastructure.

The HSE advises that the new primary care centre in Gorey is currently under development. Floor plans have been agreed, planning permission has been granted and funding has been secured. As the Senator will be aware from previous updates on Gorey primary care centre, the HSE has been engaged in ongoing discussions with the developer regarding the provision of additional car parking spaces. The Minister has been advised that the HSE is continuing to actively engage with the developer on this issue and that the process is almost complete. He is happy to inform the Senator that once this issue has been resolved, this will allow for the developer to progress the delivery of Gorey primary care centre. While he fully recognises that these delays are not ideal, he can assure the Senator that efforts are ongoing to resolve this issue. Overall, the new primary care centre is a welcome and significant development for Gorey and the surrounding area. It will act as a single point of access for health and social care delivery. The primary care team will include GPs working alongside public health nurses and other healthcare professionals, including occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists. This team will also link in with the wider community network services, including dental care and hearing specialists, among others.

With regard to the HSE clinic building at Camolin, County Wexford, which is a former health centre that is currently vacant, this is a detached building on its own site that is owned freehold by the HSE. In line with the ongoing Government initiatives in respect of sourcing suitable properties for use in the provision of accommodation under Housing for All, and also as part of the Ukrainian accommodation response, the HSE has offered the site to the Land Development Agency, local authorities and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Department of Health and the HSE acknowledge the urgent and important work done in conjunction with other Departments and bodies to source properties suitable for providing accommodation and will continue to contribute to efforts to address the current urgent policy imperatives supporting Housing for All, in addition to the provision of accommodation to Ukrainian refugees arriving in Ireland.