Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Before I give my reply on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, I wish to indicate that I fully understand the importance of primary care centres. Where they have been established, they have made a major contribution to local areas in the context of providing comprehensive healthcare. I thank Senator Byrne for raising this matter and for the opportunity to update the House in respect of it.

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. Integral to this is the development of primary care centres across the country in local communities such as Gorey.

Primary care centres form an important part of our healthcare infrastructure, providing a single point of access to primary and community care services for individuals. They also serve as a resource more broadly for the community, creating a focal point for local health initiatives or providing community groups with a place to meet. It is for this reason that the development of primary care centres is an important part of Sláintecare. Significant progress has been made in the delivery of these primary care centres, with 175 now opened to date and a further nine under construction. These primary care centres offer a tangible example of the investment this Government is making in community-based health infrastructure.

The HSE currently operates two centres from which primary care services are delivered in Gorey, namely the Avenue Primary Care Centre and Conal House Primary Care Centre. However, a new primary care centre is planned for Gorey to be delivered by way of the operational lease model. As the Senator will be aware, the HSE had previously advertised and identified a preferred provider for this new centre in Gorey. Unfortunately, an issue regarding the economic viability of the project emerged and the HSE intends to readvertise for new proposals to develop Gorey primary care centre. The Department is aware that the development of the primary care centre in Gorey has been stalled for a considerable amount of time and that this has been frustrating for people in the local area. The HSE has advised the Minister that meetings were held recently with relevant stakeholders and that it has commenced a comprehensive review of the current and forecast service needs for Gorey. The resulting needs assessment will be used as the basis for the readvertisement of this primary care centre, which will take place before the end of this year.

The Minister wishes to assure the Senator that the Government remains committed to both the continued development of primary care centres throughout the country and specifically to the provision of the primary care centre in Gorey.