‘One clinic opened in f ive years’

JUST one of 35 primary care centres promised in 2012 by then health minister James Reilly is operational.

Opposition TDs yesterday rounded on the Government over the failure that has seen only one of the promised centre – in Kells, Co. Meath – up and running since Mr Reilly’s pledge five years ago.

Fianna Fáil health spokesman Billy Kelleher yesterday revealed that the remaining 34 facilities are still in varying stages of construction.

He asked for an update on the centres, first announced on July 17, 2012, during parliamentary questions. Minister for Health Simon Harris responded: ‘One of these primary care centres is already operational and a further six are projected to open in 2017, and ten in 2018.’

Mr Harris said a separate 57 primary care centres have been opened since 2011 and that 12 more ‘are projected to open in 2017 or early 2018’.

Mr Kelleher said the pace of the delivery of the promised centres ‘has been disappointing to say the least’.

University College Cork health economist Brian Turner said opening ‘one out of 35 is a pretty bad return’.

He said that Mr Reilly had set a target of 35 centres after the previous Fianna Fáil government failed to deliver on a 2001 primary care centre target.

He said: ‘We were supposed to have 200 odd primary care centres open by 2011 – so that never quite delivered.

‘By the time the 2011 government came in, it was already behind target so James Reilly was trying to push it through as well.’

However, on just one of the 35 centres being open, he added: ‘I don’t think it’s been that bad previously’.