It is unbelieviable that the HSE has decided to cancel the building of a new Health Centre for Carrigaline. It is yet another example of short-sightedness and waste from the HSE and Department of Health.

The HSE’s decision to cancel the building of a new Health Centre in Carrigaline after spending taxpayers’ money on purchasing a site, designing a new Health Centre and obtaining planning permission is just another example of the Government’s wasteful and short-sighted attitude.

The HSE has written to me confirming that they “recognise that the present Health Centre in Carrigaline is inadequate” but that due to budget restraints it will not be possible to progress the development beyond the design stage. Instead they will seek partnership with private developers, returning the project to the drawing board and resulting in long delays.

It is widely accepted that the current Health Centre is unsuitable for the growing population that it serves and that a new Health Centre is long overdue.

The HSE purchased the former ESB site on the Ballea Road as a central location for a new Health Centre. They applied for planning permission for a new €4 million Health Centre in early 2008. In November 2008 Cork County Council approved planning permission for the demolition of the existing building and the construction of a two storey Health Centre with car parking and associated works.

The HSE’s decision to cancel this project as a result of the Government’s cutbacks not only means that the money spent on this project to date has now been wasted and the site will now go unused; it also means that the people of Carrigaline will be denied perhaps for years the improved services that they require.