The location of the long-mooted Cahersiveen Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) will be known by the end of this month.
That’s according to a HSE answer to a question by Fianna Fáil’s Norma Moriarty at the recent SouthWest Regional Health Forum (RHF).
Councillor Moriarty had requested a detailed update on the proposed primary healthcare centres for Cahersiveen and Rathmore.
The proposed primary healthcare centre would improve access to care locally by offering integrated GP services, primary care nursing, community therapies, and other multidisciplinary supports in the community.
A HSE representative told Cllr Moriarty that a decision will be made, as to which of the three potential locations in Cahersiveen will house the centre, by the next quarter of this year.
Cllr Moriarty stressed the urgent need for clarity on the primary healthcare centres, particularly in Cahersiveen where, she said, planning permission has been granted already.
She said that she assumes there is a link between the centre and a proposed ambulance base in Cahersiveen, which, last week, received almost €400,000 (€392,980) in the HSE’s
2026 capital budget for its design feasibility stage.
The HSE has been allocated funding to advance a preferred option with a decision expected by quarter-two (Q2).
Cllr Moriarty was told the Health Service Executive (HSE) Capital and Estates Office has shortlisted three suitable potential sites in Cahersiveen, and is evaluating them.
The Capital and Estates Office said it will undertake a Strategic Health Investment Framework (SHIF) analysis to determine if the project fits into the government's long-term health plan, and if there are enough people in the area who actually need the healthcare centre.
A formal request for funding will be made if the analysis recommends the project go ahead.
That capital submission will explain exactly what the clinic will include, what happens next, and how long it will take to build.
Once the preferred location has been decided, the project will have to go through the statutory planning, and strategic approval, processes.
Cllr Moriarty highlighted the importance of wider services at the centre, such as mental health provision.
She also urged that any decisions or changes be made quickly and transparently in order to be fair to affected landowners who are in limbo.
The HSE representative said that many people underestimate the distance from Cahersiveen to other healthcare locations, and that the need to establish primary care services there is significant, adding "it is indeed overdue".
