Hospital Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-28
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Robert O'Donoghue (LAB), Dublin Fingal West

While I welcome the Minister of State's comments on the need to move appropriate services out of acute hospitals into smaller community-based hubs, and the policy direction is absolutely correct, Balbriggan is the type of location where this should be applied in practice. A community-based hub at Balbriggan would work extremely well under the pull-out model, especially for services that do not need to be delivered in acute hospital settings. This is particularly important for older people who are often the most disadvantaged by longer waiting times, overcrowded hospitals and extended waiting periods. In addition, a community hub at Balbriggan could accommodate preventative and routine services, such as vaccination clinics, baby and child health services and other primary and community care services that are currently fragmented and over-centralised. This approach would reduce footfall in our hospitals, improve uptake of preventative care and better serve Dublin Fingal West.
Importantly, the infrastructure already exists in Balbriggan. As I outlined, the primary care centre there is not completely leased by the HSE meaning there is real potential to expand services without the delays and costs of a new build. I urge the Minister of State to ensure Balbriggan, while not in the plan for 2026, is actively considered under the pull-out scheme and that the HSE engages locally to deliver a community hub that reflects Government policy and local population need. This is exactly the type of initiative that makes Sláintecare real on the ground. We need to make a plan for Balbriggan to keep people, not just in Balbriggan but in Rush, Lusk and Skerries at the rural end, in the constituency and not travelling. I accept there are the three locations the Minister of State outlined, but we should keep it within the community rather than send people into Dublin or up to Louth.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-28