Nursing Homes Dail Éireann — 2026-05-12 ============================================================ Kieran O'Donnell (FG), Limerick City I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising this important matter. Long-term residential care is a crucial part of the overall continuum of care and, across the country, our HSE community nursing units, CNUs, and community hospitals play a vital role in the provision of long-term care and other services. The Government is committed to continued investment in healthcare infrastructure that supports the highest quality care for our older population. This investment includes the community nursing home capital programme, which was launched to ensure that up to 90 of our public community nursing units and community hospitals would be refurbished or replaced to ensure the best quality environments for our older people. The public private partnership aspect of the community nursing unit programme continues to progress and will deliver 528 beds in seven facilities across the country. The new community nursing unit in Killarney is part of the public private partnership project and will have a complement of 130 beds providing 50 long-stay beds, 30 dementia-specific beds and 50-short stay beds. The CNU will provide a high-quality living environment that will be in line with all regulatory requirements. I advise the Deputy that the new facility was handed over to the HSE by the contractor in December 2025. I accept that is over four or five months ago. HSE South West has advised me that preparations for Killarney CNU to welcome residents are now at an advanced stage. The application for the registration of Killarney CNU has been submitted to HIQA and an opening date for the new CNU will be fully finalised once HIQA registration has been achieved, and this will allow for the opening over the coming weeks. Once HIQA registration is secured, the new unit will open on a phased basis, with a planned transfer of residents from St. Columbanus and the district hospital, as the Deputy already referenced, to the new building. HSE South West has assured me that there is ongoing engagement with residents and their families ahead of the transfer. I have taken a particular personal interest in the opening of this CNU. I have met the HSE on a number of occasions with Department officials to ensure that Killarney CNU is opened as quickly as possible. There is a process, and part of the process is that it has to be taken over by the HSE, which happened in December, and then there is an application to HIQA, which has happened. I have requested that engagement with residents and their families take place. All current staff will transfer to the new facility, and I have been advised that the recruitment campaigns for the additional staff required are well under way to allow for the opening of the additional beds in Killarney CNU. The current two nursing homes have 101 patients. Those staff will transfer to the new CNU. There will be an additional 29 patients to bring it up to a full complement of 130. Engagement with union representatives at a local level is also ongoing and I thank the staff representatives for their continued engagement. That is taking place. I have spoken directly to the HSE about it and have been assured that it is taking place. I thank the staff representative bodies for their continued engagement. I advise the Deputy that HSE South West will continue to engage with residents, families, staff and the wider community on all updates in relation to the opening of the new Killarney community nursing unit. HSE South West advises that it does not envisage that the current delay in opening the new Killarney community nursing unit will have any impact on services or new developments. HSE South West is planning to set up an injury unit in the vacated St. Columbanus building to support the existing emergency department in University Hospital Kerry in Tralee and does not foresee any delay in these planned services. A process to appoint a design team to progress the proposal is under way and is expected to conclude in the quarter 2 of this year. The opening of the new community nursing unit in Killarney is an absolute priority for me, the Department of Health and the HSE, and indeed the Government. This state-of-the-art CNU will enhance the lives of older people in Killarney and the surrounding areas for many years to come by providing the highest quality health and social care services, and I look forward to seeing it fully operational. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-12/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:49+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-12