John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The issue I wish to raise concerns the primary care centres throughout the country that we all know work extremely well. I am particularly concerned about the primary care centre in Dundalk. To provide a little context, an old shopping centre that has been disused for well over a decade and a half and is derelict is where the brand-new primary care centre will be located in the heart of Dundalk. This project is really important. Unfortunately, it was delayed because of objections lodged by the previous owners of the shopping centre. However, planning permission has now been granted by An Bord Pleanála and the project is going ahead. I ask for a debate about primary care centres and for the Minister for Health to come to the House to give us a very clear and definitive timeline for the Dundalk primary care centre. Now that the planning side has resolved, how soon can we see shovels in the ground and construction happening?

A range of services will be going into the centre. There will be four primary care teams encompassing public health nurses, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and dietetics. There will be a dedicated mental health services team - something that is more important than ever, particularly in Dundalk in recent weeks. The centre will contain adult and children's disability services teams. This is a significant number of services and will require a significant number of staff. Straight away, there will be a minimum of 50 staff required. I would love to be able to have a debate about this matter to find out the HSE's plans for staff recruitment in order to ensure that the centre has the correct number of staff needed and how soon this project can start. It has been in the pipeline for about six years. It was slowed down by planning issues but has subsequently been approved by An Bord Pleanála. We need to get construction commenced as soon as possible.We need those primary care health centres right in the heart of Dundalk town and I would appreciate the Minister's help on it.