Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to the Chamber.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State is very welcome to the Chamber this morning. I thank her for taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health. I am seeking an update on primary care centres in Monaghan, Castleblayney, Clones and Ballybay. What stages are they at? As the Minister of State will know, Sláintecare reform is about transforming how we deliver healthcare in this country and building towards equal access to services for every citizen based on patient need rather than ability to pay. In putting people at the centre of the health system and developing primary and community health services, the Department of Health is working in conjunction with the HSE to provide new models of healthcare that will allow people to stay healthy in their own homes and communities for as long as they possibly can, which is vital. It is about providing the right care in the right place at the right time.

Primary care is an essential element of our healthcare system for the future, with all of the health and social care services you can find in your community outside of hospital providing a single point of contact with the health system. This is why the development of primary care centres in County Monaghan is so important. The primary care centre in Carrickmacross was opened by the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, approximately 12 months ago and is now successfully up and running. Different elements are at varying stages of development but the feedback has been very positive.

The primary care project in Monaghan town includes the refurbishment of the old Blackwater House facility on the beautiful campus of St. Davnet's Hospital in Monaghan town. The HSE has previously said that 40 to 45 staff will be located on the site once it is fully up and running. The project will include a major refurbishment of the Victorian building in Monaghan town and is expected to comprise two GP practices - I understand GPs have already signed up and committed to the project - community nursing, dentistry, adult mental health services, civil registration, adult and child disability services, psychiatry of old age and inpatient accommodation to name but a few.

I would be grateful if the Minister of State would give us the up-to-date position on the primary care centres in Monaghan town, Clones, Ballybay and Castleblayney because there is great interest in them. People can see that this is the future of healthcare in this country and they are very eager to see these facilities up and running as soon as is practicably possible.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, asked me to thank the Senator for raising this issue and welcomes the opportunity to provide an update on the development of primary care centres in County Monaghan to the House.

A central objective of the programme for Government is to deliver increased levels of integrated healthcare with service delivery oriented towards general practice, primary care and community-based services to enable a "home first" approach. Primary care centres play an essential role in the delivery of that objective and significant progress has been made in the delivery of these centres nationally with 167 opened to date and a further 13 currently in construction. In community healthcare organisation, CHO, area 1, which covers the counties of Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo, there are currently 23 primary care centres in operation. In County Monaghan specifically, there has been the addition of a new primary care centre in Carrickmacross, which became operational in April 2022. Furthermore, an additional two primary care centres are currently in construction in County Monaghan, Clones primary care centre and north Monaghan primary care centre in Monaghan town, with both due to become operational in the coming months.

With regard to Clones primary care centre, the construction process is the final stages. Commissioning and demonstrations are ongoing prior to the expected handover to HSE estates in early July. Subject to a successful handover, HSE estates expects that this primary care centre in Clones will be operational in August. When operational, the services available will include public health nursing, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, social work, psychology and dietetics services alongside GP services. The construction of north Monaghan primary care centre was recently completed with the final handover to HSE estates taking place on 30 June.The HSE has informed the Minister that the centre is currently at the equipping stage and it is expected this building will be operational in August. The HSE has advised that a wide range of services will be available from north Monaghan primary care centre including public health nursing, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry, dentistry, ophthalmology, social work, psychology, mental health services and dietetics as well as GP services. An additional primary care centre is to be located in Castleblayney. This centre is at the early planning phase and is to be delivered via the operational lease model. An application for planning permission has been lodged, and once that planning process has concluded, the new primary care centre can progress through to the next stages of development, and it will then be possible to provide more detailed timelines for the delivery of that centre. The development of these primary care centres will be a welcome addition to the people and healthcare workers of County Monaghan, and I assure the Senator this Government remains committed to the provision of primary care centres throughout the country and, indeed, in County Monaghan.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for her positive response to my query. That is great news regarding Clones and Monaghan town. It is to be hoped both those facilities will be up and running by the end of August or so, and that is a huge plus to the people of those areas. Also regarding Castleblayney, the planning application has been lodged there and that is a positive development. I am not sure what the updated position is regarding Ballybay and perhaps the Minister of State might have that information this morning. It is a very welcome development related to healthcare in Monaghan. In the week that is in it, the Monaghan injuries unit was one of the only ones in the country that did not open at weekends, but as and from this Saturday, 8 July, the injuries unit in Monaghan will open seven days per week. That is a very welcome development. It adds to healthcare not just for the people of Monaghan but for the whole region, and it will take pressure off the Cavan and Drogheda emergency departments.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator and will ask the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to come back to him regarding Ballybay as I do not have that information here. I thank him for his question and reiterate what we have both said around the importance of primary care centres and that infrastructure to support the delivery of integrated care by facilitating closer co-ordination and co-operation between health professionals across the disciplines. I will come back to the Senator on his specific question on Ballybay.