New deadline for long-awaited healthcare centre in Mayo town

The long-awaited health centre in Ballyhaunis will receive its first patients in the spring of 2025, a senior HSE official has stated.

However, Tony Canavan, who is the Regional Executive Officer, HSE West and North West, acknowledged at a meeting of the Health Forum West that the centre still remains unfinished, having missed its most recent slated completion date of May 2025.

Raising the matter, Ballyhaunis-based Cllr Alma Gallagher said it is very concerning that completion dates for the centre continue to be pushed out.

“I would just like to express my concern and frustration and that of the people of Ballyhaunis and East Mayo over the continuous missing of deadlines and also extension of those deadlines. Even a year ago at the September 2024 forum I posed a question on the deadlines and when the centre would be up and running and was told that May 2025 was the practical completion date.

“This building has remained half-built for nearly five years now, to the extent that local children have to go to different counties for essential health services, which is very concerning, and once again the completion date is extended now to the first quarter of next year.

“There was great joy and satisfaction when we saw a full return to work on site but that did not last as productivity stopped during the summer months. I accept builders are entitled to their two weeks' holidays but you would imagine whatever work had been in the contract would have been done before liaising with the HSE again. 

"This is an operational lease agreement so we can see the red flags now in these agreements if a contractor is allowed to down tools in the middle of a contract and leave communities like Ballyhaunis in limbo. Where is the accountability to the HSE? Really, there are a lot of questions to be answered.” 

Cllr Gallagher said that the ten-month build period outlined in September 2024 “was not feasible anyway” and wondered “is this the final deadline and will we really see Ballyhaunis Primary Healthcare Centre up and running" in the first quarter of 2026.

Mr Canavan said that the delay arose due to “rising costs that came up”, adding: “No doubt this has been a very difficult process and from the point of view of the HSE we have remained focused on delivering Ballyhaunis Primary Health Care Centre and in the most efficient way we can. Given where we are at heading towards October, the likelihood of any further hiccups between now and the end of the year is very slim and we hope this is the final deadline and will be steadily working with the contractor on that and look forward to more certainty at the next forum meeting.” 

Mr Canavan said he fully expected the construction work to be completed by early 2026 and the building to be handed over to the HSE before the end of January with patients using it by March.

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.