Go-ahead in Roscrea for €7m primary care centre
The granting of planning permission for a €7 million primary care centre on the old Maltings site in Roscrea has been broadly welcomed.
Last Thursday week Tipperary Co Council granted conditional permission to Tullamore Medical Ltd for the demolition of disused buildings and construction of a new three-storey primary healthcare centre at Malt Vale/Ayr Hill, Parkmore. The centre is to be used for GP, public nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, as well as dentistry, orthodontic and other ancillary services.
Roscrea councillors Shane Lee (Ind) and Michael Smith (FF) warmly welcomed the green light for the development. “The strategy of placing all these services in one convenient setting is central to how primary care is to be developed for the future,” Cllr Smith stated.
“In the final analysis, it is about serving the needs of the people in a more comprehensive way. Treating all health problems at the earliest stage possible, and keeping people in their homes and out of hospital, will bring better outcomes in the long run.”
He said significant alterations to the plan were necessary to meet the requirements associated with this kind of development on a Protected status site. “I have significant experience in dealing with this development company, arising from a successful housing project and a major school extension in Roscrea,” Cllr Smith said. “The developer and I look forward now to putting the final parts of the proposal together, making sure a full complement of staff will be available to deliver the best possible services.”
A member of the Lowry Team, Cllr Lee welcomed a “vital step in the delivery of this very important health facility for the people for the town”. He had highlighted the importance of progressing the primary care centre for Roscrea, as health services in the town are currently at a variety of locations with many people requiring transport to access them.
NURSING HOME PROPOSAL
Cllr Lee was also involved in Deputy Michael Lowry’s proposal to build a new 40-bed public nursing home adjacent to the primary care centre. He said this proposal, operating on a lease arrangement between the developer and the HSE, would have ensured that all vital care facilities were on the same site in the heart of the town, and would have ensured the continued provision of residential care for the elderly in the town given the situation facing the Dean Maxwell home.
But, he said, “the issue became a political football in advance of the General Election and the opportunity was lost to Roscrea”.
Deputy Lowry said the new primary care centre would make a “wonderful asset to the delivery of health services in the town”. But he said Roscrea could also have been welcoming the prospect of a new public nursing home on the same site.
The public nursing home issue has remained a priority for Deputy Lowry, who raised it in the Dáil with An Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
The independent TD outlined the two options available, including the difficult prospect of expanding the existing Dean Maxwell facility, and the option of using the three-acre green field site owned by the HSE at the rear of the Cré House Health Centre to build a new nursing home.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil TD Jackie Cahill described the €7 million primary care centre at “a significant investment in the town of Roscrea and surrounding region”.
“The provision of primary care is a key aim of this Government with the intention of maintaining essential minor services in the community and so in turn taking major pressure of our hospitals. I am delighted with this announcement”, Deputy Cahill stated.
Leader of the Labour Party Alan Kelly TD also welcomed last Thursday’s granting of planning permission.
“Access to health services within our community is essential,” Deputy Kelly said, pointing out that people in Roscrea would have access to a range of health services in one building. “The development of the primary care centre will be a wonderful facility for the town.”