Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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The Government's plan to roll out primary care centres across the country is a necessity. With regard to an area in my constituency of Dublin North-West that encompasses Santry, Whitehall and Beaumont, which would be regarded as an area of high density when it comes to population and which is constantly growing, there are plans to provide a number of essential health services for the area. The demographics are mixed. There is a substantial number of elderly people living in these areas as many of the estates were built in the fifties, sixties and seventies. Their families have grown up and moved away but the parents have remained. I have found in my work across the constituency that many of these older estates house elderly residents. As people get older, they will require additional medical supports. That can include, for example, chiropody, physiotherapy, older people's services, audiology services, occupational therapy and so on. There has been a massive building programme across Santry, Whitehall and Beaumont. Large apartment blocks have been built, for example, on the site of the famous old Swiss Cottage public house, across the road in the industrial estate and in the Shanowen industrial estate. There is a big development proposed for the site known as the Nuns' Field in Whitehall. Northwood in Santry has had thousands of units built, with more planned to be built in the future. As regards the Oscar Traynor site, 853 houses are being built adjacent to Beaumont at the moment. There are many more building projects being completed and populated or proposed to be built on in the near future.

This brings a different demographic with different medical requirements to these areas. A great number of people buying or renting these new accommodations will be mainly younger people with young families. Families with young children will require specific child health services such as social work and child protection services, speech and language therapy, newborn and child health screening programmes, health and development checks for young children and so on. Both elderly residents and families with young children will require proper GP services, and it is particularly important to have these. Other areas of Dublin North-West have suffered from a severe lack of GP services, and that is no different in Santry and Whitehall.

In response to my most recent question on a primary care health centre for these areas, the HSE outlined a number of services it intends to provide for the area, which includes the following: public health nursing, community medical services, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and psychology and social work services for the Larkhill primary care team catchment area. Also included will be a cardiac rehab gym, clinical rooms, community diagnostics, podiatry and wound treatment, a primary care gym and a pulmonary rehab gym. I welcome all these proposed services and facilities that will be available in the near future. The HSE has suggested that a number of these services will be available in quarter 4 of this year.

I am concerned, however, that the HSE has decided to enter into a leasing agreement with the Omni Shopping Centre for use of space in the centre for these services and facilities. It was always my belief that a dedicated primary care centre would be built in the area to accommodate such services and facilities. Residents have raised concerns with me that the HSE has not considered a more permanent stand-alone primary care centre as an option.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Ellis for his question. I am glad to have the opportunity to update the House on this matter.

A central objective of the programme for Government is to deliver increased levels of integrated healthcare, with service delivery reoriented towards general practice, primary care and community-based services to enable a home first approach. Integral to this is the development of primary care centres and integrated care hubs across the country in our local communities. Significant progress has been made in the delivery of primary care centres, with 175 opened to date and a further nine under construction. Primary care centres offer a tangible example of the investment this Government is making in community-based health infrastructure.

Aligned with Sláintecare objectives, the HSE's enhanced community care programme is securing a lease in Omni Shopping Centre for integrated community specialist teams, CSTs, managing chronic disease and older persons. These CSTs enable the redesign of care pathways, making care more accessible within the community for those with a chronic disease and older persons. The Larkhill primary care team will also be based in this location.

This specialist hub will develop pathways and provide integrated consultant-led healthcare services, aligned to Beaumont Hospital, for people with complex health and social care needs, older persons, and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, adult asthma, cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes. Co-located with these CST services will be local primary care team services. These services, currently provided from Larkhill Health Centre, will also operate from the site and will include public health nursing, community medical service, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology and social work services for the Larkhill primary care team catchment area.

Work on the delivery of the clinical space on the first floor is due to be completed in the final months of this year. When completed, the space will provide an additional 36 clinical spaces, including a cardiac rehab gym, clinical rooms, community diagnostics, podiatry and wound treatment, a primary care gym, and a pulmonary rehab gym. Dental services will continue to be provided from Larkhill Health Centre.

The Minister welcomes the progress made on the development of the integrated care hub at Omni Shopping Centre and the alignment of primary care and community specialist services in a shared clinical space to better enable truly integrated care delivery in our local communities. I hope that is good news for the Deputy. It sounds like a very comprehensive suite of services is about to be provided. I hope that answers the Deputy's queries.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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There is no doubt that these services are urgently needed. We welcome them, as do the residents. We have raised this matter over so many years and, at last, we are making serious progress. For how long does the HSE propose to lease the space in Omni Shopping Centre? I am curious to know the costs of both the rent and fitting out of the property. Do we have a timescale for when the centre will open fully? Will recruitment be a problem? I notice that no GP services are to be included. It is disappointing that they are not.

The issue for me and the residents is that we are renting instead of establishing a dedicated centre. By having a dedicated centre, we could expand services later, if needed. I am not saying what is being done is a waste of public money, because we are getting services we need, but there was a better way to proceed.

I am glad we are keeping the orthodontic centre in Larkhill and that it will be continually manned. It is needed there and is very important. Once again, there is plenty of land available from the local authorities. There are lands right across the area that are owned by the local authorities. I do not know why we did not consider options other than leasing. That is my complaint, in addition to the lack of GP services. However, we certainly welcome the announcement.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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It is very welcome, indeed. I note the Deputy's comments. The Minister also very much welcomes the development of the integrated care hub in Omni Shopping Centre and the co-location of the consultant-led services, provided for the enhanced community care specialist teams for people with chronic disease and older persons, and the primary care services provided by Larkhill primary care team. The services are anticipated to provide facilities for the Santry, Beaumont and Whitehall areas, which the Deputy asked about. I hope things are well matched.

It is also welcome news that work on the delivery of the clinical space on the first floor is due to be completed before the end of this year. The Deputy asked about the timing. When fully operational, the integrated care hub will provide modern, fit-for-purpose clinical space for both the primary and community specialist teams. Bringing all the services together on a single site means patients no longer have to travel to different places to access various services. The community-based teams provide end-to-end pathways of care for patients, with greater levels of care delivered and fully managed within the community setting away from acute hospitals. A single integrated care hub also creates invaluable opportunities for professionals across disciplines to work together, share knowledge and learn from one another's experiences. The Minister assures the Deputy that the Government remains committed to the continued development of primary care infrastructure throughout the country, including in north Dublin.