Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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80. To ask the Minister for Health the number of primary care centres currently operating; the number in construction; the number planned in north Kildare; the way in which the centres are helping to achieve the aims of Sláintecare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34969/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Primary Care Centres are essential to expanding healthcare provision in our communities and represent a very real and substantial commitment to the objectives of both the Programme for Government and Sláintecare - to shift care away from acute hospitals and build the necessary infrastructure and capacity to provide care where we want it to be provided – as close to our own homes as possible.

Primary Care Centres are modern, purpose-designed buildings that provide a single location for a primary care team to work from and thereby, improve access to primary care health services. The provision of primary care services together, under one roof, supports patients in a significant way. It means people no longer have to travel to different places for different health services. Moreover, PCCs can support the delivery of integrated care by facilitating closer coordination and cooperation between health professionals from across different disciplines.

In this way Primary Care Centres support us to achieve the aims of Slaintecare, by putting people at the centre of the health system and developing primary and community health services to allow people to stay healthy in their homes and communities for as long as possible.

Nationally, we have made real progress in developing primary care infrastructure. At the end of Q1 2025 there were a total of 180 Primary Care Centres operational across the country, with a strong pipeline in the construction and planning stages.

Regarding the matter raised on the planned PCCs in Co. Kildare, the HSE holds responsibility for the provision, along with the maintenance and operation of PCCs. Therefore, I have forwarded your correspondence to the HSE and requested that they reply directly to you in relation to this matter, as soon as possible.