Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I appreciate the Minister of State taking this matter, which concerns the ongoing problem of buildings that are either in the ownership or management of the HSE. I understand there are potentially up to 400 such buildings nationwide that have been left derelict or underutilised. While much of the attention in Dublin city is focused on Baggot Street Hospital, which was abandoned by the HSE many years ago, these buildings are located right around the country and local representatives regularly point them out.

I will cite the case of the health centre in Camolin, County Wexford, which is one I have raised regularly in this House. It closed in 2014, much to the annoyance of local people. A lot of questions were asked about what was being done with the building. In 2018, the HSE finally admitted that it was going to offer it to other agencies. In 2020, an issue suddenly arose with the title of the building. It took the HSE eight years to discover this but there was still no action. At the end of 2022, when I raised this matter, I was told that as none of the local agencies or the local authority had an interest, the building would potentially be used to house Ukrainian families. The Minister of State will appreciate, given his brief, the importance of these buildings being available for that purpose. At that time, it was welcomed by the local community because it wanted to see the building finally put to use, with the hope that, in the long term, it would revert to the local community as a community building. The HSE again did nothing.

In November of last year, I arranged a meeting with HSE estates because of its failure regarding a number of projects in north Wexford, including derelict buildings. HSE estates indicated at that meeting with the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, that this matter would be addressed as a priority. Since that meeting in November, I have been trying to get an update from HSE estates on what is happening with that building. There has been some remedial work carried out at the building but there is still nobody inside it.

The Minister of State will appreciate the demand for property in this country, particularly in terms of his own portfolio. That building could be used as a community health centre, and there was interest in that, or by community groups in the area. It could have been used to house Ukrainian families, which was the original purpose indicated 18 months ago, but nothing happened. It could be converted into much-needed housing because it is a fine building. For ten years, the HSE has left that building abandoned.

The reason I get so annoyed about this issue is that while this is just one building, every public representative in the country will be able to point to others, including, I am sure, the Acting Chairperson, Senator Murphy, in Roscommon. The Minister of State knows of such buildings in Dublin. Everyone in Dublin points to Baggot Street hospital. The HSE is one of the biggest owners of derelict and abandoned buildings in the country. Some of them would require very little work to be put back into public use. I have no confidence in HSE estates because there is no evidence of any strategy to address the issue. I ask that the Minister intervene directly. I would appreciate a specific update on the facility in Camolin that the HSE has left abandoned for ten years. This is, however, part of a national strategy that needs to be addressed.