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

I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, who has asked me to thank Senator Garvey for raising this issue. He welcomes the opportunity to provide an update to the House on the development of primary care centres.

A central objective of the programme for Government is to deliver increased levels of integrated healthcare, 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 in the delivery of that objective, and significant progress has been made on the delivery of these centre nationwide, with 165 opened to date and a further 14 currently under construction. In Mid West Community Healthcare, which covers counties Limerick, Clare and north Tipperary, 13 primary care centres are in operation. In County Clare specifically, there has been the recent addition of a new primary care centre on Station Road in Ennis. This centre became operational in quarter 4 of 2022. Furthermore, an additional two primary care centres are under construction in Mid West Community Healthcare. One, in Newcastle West, County Limerick, is due to become operational later this year, and one in Roscrea, County Tipperary, is due in early 2024. Primary care centres provide a range of primary care and community services throughout the mid-west, ranging from GP services to nursing, social work, allied health and disability services, dental, chiropody, ophthalmic, older person services, child health, and addiction counselling and treatment.

A number of additional primary care centres to be located in County Clare are at earlier stages of the planning and development process. The Department has been informed by the HSE that the planning process for a new primary care centre at Tulla Road, Ennis, is ongoing and it is hoped this will be concluded in the near future. Once the planning process has been concluded, the new primary care centre can progress through the next stages of development. It will then be possible to provide more detailed timelines for the delivery of that centre. In addition, a primary care centre in Ennistymon, County Clare, is at the early planning stages. The HSE has informed the Department that a number of submissions have been received for accommodation in Ennistymon via the operational lease model. Subject to securing HSE board approval in March 2023, an agreement for lease will be entered into. The selected developer will then progress to planning stages, and subject to a successful planning application with Clare County Council, the HSE estimates a development programme of works for the delivery of the proposed primary care centre of approximately 18 to 24 months thereafter. Both of these primary care centres will be a welcome addition to the people and healthcare workers of County Clare, and I assure the Senator that this Government remains committed to the provision of primary care centres in Country Clare, Mid West Community Healthcare, and throughout the country.