Health Minister responds on County Roscommon Primary Care Centre issue

The office of Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has responded directly to local concerns on the issue of the unexpected delay surrounding the delivery of the long-awaited Primary Care Centre (PCC) in Ballaghaderreen.

Senator Scahill has been informed that Minister Carroll MacNeill’ s officials were now engaging with the HSE to “ensure action is taken to progress the optimal solution to ensure the delivery of a PCC for Ballaghadereen in the earliest possible timeframe”.

Last week, the Herald revealed that the developer had pulled out of the project despite a lease agreement being signed with the Health Service Executive (HSE) in late 2024.

The Minister’s office has now outlined to Senator Gareth Scahill several options including the HSE purchasing the existing site with planning permission from the previous developer at market value.

The HSE would then either tender the works directly or run a ‘sale lease back’ model with this site.

A second option, the office said, would be to purchase an alternative site or building if available and the HSE would design and tender the works directly while another option is re-advertising the operational lease offer to the market.

Senator Scahill said he had been working closely on this matter with his party colleague, Cllr Liam Callaghan, Ballaghaderreen councillor Micheál Frain and Fianna Fáil councillor Sean Moylan, who is a member of the regional health forum.

“I’ve spoken to Minister Carroll O’Neill and clarified the urgency of the situation. I raised the matter in the Order of Business in the Seanad and thankfully, I got a response from the Minister’s office outlining that they are committed to the project.

“They are now working with the HSE to try and put all the options on the table and identify the best course of action in delivering this primary care centre for Ballaghaderreen in the earliest possible timeframe,” he said.

At last week’s regional health forum, the HSE said it was also “committed” to delivering the Ballaghaderreen Primary Care Centre despite the delays.

See more on the story in this week's edition of the Roscommon Herald.