Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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119. To ask the Minister for Health when the new primary care centre in Nenagh will open; what services it will provide; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24022/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I wish to thank the Deputy for allowing me to update the house on the new Primary Care Centre for Nenagh.

Primary Care Centres (PCCs) provide vitally important infrastructure that act as a single point of access to community healthcare services for patients.

Nenagh Primary Care Centre, which will serve a population of 22,500 in Nenagh and the surrounding areas is currently under construction and is due to become operational in Quarter 1 of 2026.

When opened, it is envisaged that a wide range of Primary Care therapy services, Public Health nursing services and GP services will be delivered from the centre.

The development of the Nenagh PCC will support capacity in UHL and the acute hospital network through the development of integrated pathways between UHL and the Primary Care Teams based in Nenagh PCC. For example, this PCC will also house the Community Specialist Team for Chronic Disease - providing community-based specialist services in the areas of cardiology, respiratory and diabetes, therefore reducing the need for referral to UHL.

Furthermore, the HSE has advised that it will also contain a number of bookable treatment rooms available to both hospital and other community healthcare services for the provision of outreach clinics such as a planned consultant-led paediatrics clinic and women’s health clinic, offering an opportunity to further decrease pressure on hospitals in the region.

I very much welcome the progress on the Nenagh Primary Care Centre development and hope to visit when it opens next year.