Work is 'intermittent' on long-delayed health centre

The HSE has acknowledged that construction work on the long-delayed primary healthcare centre in Ballyhaunis has been "intermittent" since it resumed earlier this year.

The building of the facility was halted three years ago but hopes were high that it would be finally completed after the contractor returned to the site last April. However, local Fine Gael councillor Alma Gallagher asked last week's Health Forum West about the planned completion date for the centre and when the HSE would finally occupy it. 

When the forum met last Tuesday Cllr Gallagher and the HSE's Tony Canavan engaged in a to-and-fro question and answer session in which the Ballyhaunis councillor persisted in seeking HSE commitment to the project, with the HSE chief reiterating that the completion date would be May 2025, subject to “ongoing interactions with the developer".

Expressing frustration with the lack of a definitive answer, an exasperated Cllr Gallagher described the responses as “very, very vague”, to which Mr Canavan conceded: “I am not sure I can give any more clarification.” 

Cllr Gallagher said the project had already been ongoing for over three and a half years, adding: “Now we are entering 2025 and works have basically stopped on site. So what we have now is an eyesore, a derelict building, waiting to be delivered on.” 

Cllr Gallagher said she had brought the matter up at consecutive meetings of the forum since last summer but that “the goalposts keep changing regarding timelines”. In September, she was told the electrical and mechanical contractors would be on site in October but had not appeared.

 “There is complete frustration among the people of Ballyhanis. On Friday last, I saw one worker on the scaffolding in the snow. Another day there was just a digger there and that stopped again also. This is just not good enough, there is not enough full-scale activity.

“The Ballyhaunis population is rising three times more than the national average, we have the most diverse population in our town and yet this project is allowed to linger, while the developer is actually developing other health care centres around the country. We need to have more action. There doesn’t seem to be any commitment in terms of getting the developer back on site. I am asking for some report or clarification even verbally today to throw more light on this.” 

Mr Canavan replied: “It is clear there is longstanding difficulty with the project but this is a priority for us in the HSE and we do appreciate the need for it and the population needs.” 

Asked about the "practical completion date" of May 2025, Mr Canavan conceded the building will still have to be commissioned, which means being cleaned, equipped and brought into service, and this is expected to take another two months. He added that the contractor is now back on site doing minor works and there is continuing interaction with the HSE and the completion dates would be firmed up with him.

Cllr Gallagher insisted that the dates simply didn’t add up, asking how could there be a ten-month completion date with no activity on the site.

“I am not sure are you even familiar with the building as is and I would have serious concerns."

The HSE's newly appointed Integrated Health Manager (IHM) for Mayo, Mary Warde, stated|: “We acknowledge the frustration, we are very aware of it and are doing everything to work with the contractor and our estates colleague to get this across the line.” 

Cllr Gallager replied: “That’s all fine but patience on the ground it is wearing thin with all the excuses and we really need to see a return of the developer."