BREAKING: Approval for new €30 million Primary Care Centre in Portlaoise

Planning permission has been granted for a new €30 million Primary Care Centre for Portlaoise. 

The approval was welcomed by Laois TD Brian Stanley, who said he wanted to see work begin as soon as possible on the St Fintan’s Campus in Portlaoise. 

“I welcome the passing of planning permission by Laois County Council for the new Primary Care Centre in Portlaoise. This critical piece of infrastructure for Portlaoise and the surrounding catchment area,” said Dep Stanley. 

“I have been raising this consistently with successive health ministers and with An Taoiseach. Portlaoise and the catchment area is one of the few areas with that size of a population, in and around 30,000, that doesn’t have a Primary Care Centre,” he said. 

The proposed new four-storey Primary Care Centre building will include GP surgery, dental and orthodontic surgeries, outpatient, consultant treatment rooms, physiotherapy and occupational therapy rooms, group rooms (CAMHS and day hospital), x-ray and ultrasound services, administrative offices, ancillary staff and meeting rooms, clinical and utility stores and waiting areas, according to the plans. 

It will have 104 car parking spaces including accessible spaces and electrical vehicle charging places.  There will be 80 bicycle spaces and all other facilities such as ESB substation and linkage of the roads in St. Fintan’s Campus, according to plans.

“What is essential now is that the Government ensures that the money is put beside it. That there is no pause on this, that there is no hesitation about doing this, it has to be a priority project because of how badly it is needed,” said Dep Stanley. 

He said the project is expected to cost around €30 million to construct the Primary Care Centre. 

“We need to get a full suite of Primary Care Services, dental, GPs, physio therapy, occupational therapy, chiropathy all those services in the one location,” he said.  

“€30 million is the figure that has been mentioned in the past… I have been told in the past that the money is there,  now is the time to get the contract in place and write the cheque,” he said. 

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley also welcomed the planning approval. She said the Primary Care Centre was badly needed due to the rising population. Cllr Dwane Stanley expressed her hope that the new centre would be built soon and could alleviate pressure on hospital services. 

Primary Care teams and centres were put at the centre of health service delivery in 2001 when the then Minister for Health Micheál Martin published the Primary Care Strategy. That was further reinforced in 2017 in the Sláintecare report.

The HSE applied for planning permission for the new Primary Care Centre in Portlaoise in August last year.