*Kilrush. Photograph: Kilrush Tidy Towns
Kilrush has been identified as the location for a new primary care centre.
It is one of three places in the Mid-West that will now house primary care centres. The HSE will announce in the next week future centres to be constructed with Kilrush to be amongst them. It is proposed to design and build the centre before leasing it to the HSE.
In a statement, Fine Gael TD Pat Breen told The Clare Echo, “The Primary Care Centre will provide the health and social care services that patients require outside of the hospital setting in their own community. This centre will therefore be invaluable to the people of Kilrush and the west Clare area as it will not only ensure various primary care services are available in the area, but are also available under the one roof. This will be an integrated service that will include all the of primary care stake holders working in the community in conjunction with local GPS”.
A planning application was submitted at this week for 1,600 square metre two-storey care centre at Ashview Drive, Sixmilebridge, a decision is due by the end of April. Further applications for two separate primary care centres in Ennis on the Station Rd and Tulla Rd are expected to be lodged shortly.
“This is something that we have battled long and hard for. The news will change the way health care is provided in West Clare, it will be a huge benefit for the entire community,” Independent councillor Ian Lynch stated.
Sinn Féin’s Violet-Anne Wynne was sceptical of the announcement’s timing and where the finance for the project is coming from. “It’s deception, I’m sure after the election something will happen to stop this going ahead, land, permission or the old chestnut ‘funding’ please don’t be deceived by these creatures, sorry but that’s the nice word for them . I hope I’m wrong,” the local election candidate commented.
Following on from the publication of this article, Fine Gael local election candidate Mike Taylor hit out at the views expressed by Violet-Anne. “I am incredibly disappointed to see Violet Anne use such language of division on this issue. This is a decision that we should all be celebrating and instead she decides to turn it into a political football. She says Fine Gael don’t care about this issue despite the fact that it was my Fine Gael colleague Gabriel Keating who tabled the motion to Clare County Council in the first place. We are in the business of trying to create a better future for this area, not looking for likes on Facebook, that is the difference between my colleagues and Ms. Wynne”.
