Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 February 2013
727. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health following the announcement on 17 July 2012 that a new primary health centre will be built in Dungloe, County Donegal, if he will provide a full update on the progress made to date on this announcement; and if he will consider investing this allocation to the health campus-facilities currently in Dungloe. [7365/13]
View answerDungloe, Co Donegal is one of the 35 potential locations for primary care centres for development by way of PPP as announced in the July 2012 Infrastructure Stimulus Package. Of the 35, approximately 20 will be offered to the market subject to a) agreement between the local GPs and the HSE on active local GP involvement in the centres and b) site suitability and availability. The HSE is currently analysing the available sites in each location and engaging with the GPs in each location to determine their interest in participating in the primary care centre development. While it is not possible, at this time, to give start and completion dates for any of the individual 20 potential locations, the best estimate is that these primary care centres will be completed by late 2016. The estimated capital allocation of €115m indented for the PPP initiative and announced in July 2012 cannot be allocated to the HSE's annual capital allocation, and therefore cannot be used for direct-build or to upgrade existing facilities.
