Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I call on the Minister for Health to support the people of Ballaghaderreen in west Roscommon because, on Tuesday of this week, we received the disappointing news that the primary care centre that was promised for Ballaghaderreen, initially mooted in 2012, was not going to happen. It only came to light on Tuesday in the regional health forum when a former colleague of mine, Councillor Sean Moylan, brought the question up, as he had done in November and in September previously, asking for progress reports on the primary care centre. He was told that even though the lease had been signed on the facility, at the end of January, the developer made the HSE aware it was no longer able to fulfil that work.

The people of Ballaghaderreen have stood up to the mark every time they have been asked to by the State. They have taken in migrants and they have opened their community to everybody. This is a much-needed facility that is necessary for the whole community – migrants and locals. It would be remiss of me not to mention that. I know I have the full support of all the local representatives on this. We cannot let these situations continue without supporting these communities that have always stood up.