Ballymun health centre opening 'not for 12 months'

A new health centre which has been lying idle for the past two years in Ballymun in north Dublin will not open for another year despite a decision by the Minister for Health, Ms Harney, to approve funding for its fit-out, it emerged last night.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) said it welcomed Ms Harney's decision to approve the €12 million needed to equip the centre.

However, the HSE said: "The total time line from receipt of formal official sanction to occupation is approximately 12 months."

In a statement issued through its northern area office, formerly the Northern Area Health Board, the executive said it had to follow the appropriate regulations on procurement, such as notifying European contractors of tenders - a procedure that would take three to four months.

Fit-out, equipping and commissioning of the already constructed €48 million building would take a further eight months, the HSE said.

Ms Harney said yesterday she had "sorted out the difficulties" regarding procurement procedures, and: "I have given the go-ahead for that facility to be opened. It will be opened as quickly as it logistically can."

Pressed on a time-frame, the Minister said she was satisfied the problems in relation to the centre would progress within "a matter of weeks".

Her announcement was welcomed by health professionals, among them Dr Bríd Hollywood, a GP working at the existing health centre which was closed temporarily last year on health and safety grounds.

"We are absolutely delighted, and look forward to the new centre being up and running as soon as possible," she said. "The current building has gone well past its sell-by date. It would not be uncommon to find no heat or water in the building, and the overcrowding makes it more difficult for patients to attend."

Mr Stephen O'Neill of Impact trade union, which represents the majority of staff at the centre, said the existing facilities had been "a real danger to staff and service users". He said he hoped Ms Harney would "inject real momentum into this project and meet her new target".

Ms Róisín Shortall of the Labour Party said the announcement was "not before time" given the Minister's "shameful" delay in approving funding.