I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan. This is a very important issue for people who require dialysis in County Clare. It is one that I have raised in the House on a number of occasions. People who need dialysis two, three or four times a week in west Clare and north Clare have to travel to Limerick. If you live in Kilrush, it is the bones of an hour to go into Ennis and then it is at least another half an hour into Limerick, depending on the time of day and the traffic. That is an hour and a half into Limerick and an hour and a half home in the evening three to four times a week. For a long time it has been proposed that there would be a satellite dialysis clinic based in Ennis. It was promised a number of years ago and it was supposed to open in 2023. It was also supposed to open in 2024 and then in 2025. Now we are told it will open by December 2026. Am I convinced? No, simply because the timelines have been broken time and again. My understanding is that there is space in a unit for this facility. I understand companies are prepared to tender for a contract to do the work, which I think is outsourced. I also know that there are dozens of patients who need it, who require dialysis multiple times a week.

A policy decision has been made by the HSE to open a satellite clinic in Ennis, there are patients who require it and there is space to provide it. For the life of me I cannot understand the reason for the delay, which is causing huge concern and stress and impacting on the quality of life of people who are vulnerable and need support. Sometimes it is unavoidable when these things happen, but in this case it is avoidable and it should not be tolerated. I know of a couple of cases where community hospitals have been in a position to take dialysis patients because of the geographical challenges and difficulties. My question is simple. Will the Minister of State affirm a date here this morning as to when the satellite dialysis unit will be up and running in Ennis so that vulnerable patients and dialysis users in County Clare can benefit from it and avoid and eliminate unnecessary and very pressurised and life-impacting travel?

I thank Senator Conway very much for the opportunity to address the House today on an issue I know is of real and ongoing importance to the people of County Clare and the wider mid-west. I am taking this Commencement on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill.

At the outset, I reassure the Senator that the Government is fully committed to improving patient services and delivering patient-centred care that truly meets the needs of patients and their families. That commitment is reflected in the significant level of new resources that have been invested in the HSE in recent years.

Investment in the hospitals in the mid-west has increased from €370 million in 2019 to €763 million in 2025. That includes Ennis Hospital and University Hospital Limerick, UHL. This investment is already making a real difference for a large number of patients accessing care, and it will support the hospitals in the region to continue expanding and improving the services they provide. In terms of the haemodialysis services in the region, the HSE has advised that patients from County Clare are currently treated either in UHL or in the hospital's satellite centre in the Dock Road in Limerick city. Haemodialysis is a life-sustaining treatment. However, we cannot underestimate the toll it takes, for dialysis patients and their loved ones, travelling to treatment several times a week, often for hours on end. It is extremely demanding.

The national renal office has highlighted a significant growth in demand for haemodialysis services in the mid-west, with a 66% increase in demand between 2010 and 2020. More recently in 2025, 150 of the 414 patients who attended dialysis in UHL were residents of County Clare. Work is under way to progress the development of a haemodialysis unit in Ennis, which I understand will provide 120 treatment slots per week. The HSE has advised that this unit is expected to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2026. This is a very welcome development for the people of County Clare using those services. It will also help to ease pressures on the renal department at University Hospital Limerick as well as the satellite unit on the Dock Road in Limerick. It also reflects the direction set out in the national strategy for renal services and is in keeping with the Sláintecare goal of delivering more care closer to people's homes.

I assure the Senator that the Minister for Health fully recognises the importance of expanding haemodialysis options in the mid-west. This additional capacity will make a meaningful difference for patients and their families across the entire region. The Minister, and the entire Government, continue to engage closely with the HSE to ensure it is supported in delivering high-quality healthcare services for the people of the mid-west. I accept the challenges and issues Senator Conway raises. It is hugely important that we understand the challenges for people who are undergoing dialysis and the long distances they have to travel several times a week. It is not just on a once-off basis. They are travelling long distances to Limerick. The HSE and the Government are fully committed to the unit in Ennis. I will take the Senator's concern back to the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I also assure the Deputy that the HSE and the Government will continue to monitor this to ensure there is a speedy delivery of the unit, which would free up the services within Limerick but also give greater access to services for the people of County Clare closer to their homes.

I acknowledge the sincerity of the Minister of State's reply. Yet another timeline has been set down. I will hold the Department and the Minister to account on it. We are allowed to table Commencement matters every six months. I sincerely hope that, next December, I am not tabling a similar motion and that we will have the unit up and running.

I acknowledge what the Minister of State has said, that there has been enormous progress in healthcare in the mid-west, an area in which there was underinvestment for decades. That is welcome. When services are not needed in Limerick and when they can be provided in places like Ennis, to everyone's benefit, everything should be done to make sure that happens because it reduces pressure on a hospital that is already way over capacity. I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I am sure the 150-odd people availing of dialysis several times a week will take some solace from the reference to the fourth quarter. I hope it is October as opposed to December.

I thank the Senator. As he will know quite well, I am very familiar with County Clare. We have had the benefit of holidaying in County Clare for many years. What a beautiful part of the world.

I also know the distance from west Clare and north Clare to Limerick and to Ennis, so I know the distance people are travelling. I come from a rural area myself so I know the imposition on families and patients and the challenges for long-term commuting several times a week. I accept Senator Conway's point. There was a reference in my opening remarks to the fourth quarter of 2026. I will engage further with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on it and with the HSE to ensure that happens and that the date that has been given will be achieved. We take it very seriously as it is hugely important. The closer the treatment to people's homes, the better outcomes we have for people in the long term.

I look forward to welcoming the Minister of State back to Ennistymon again in July.