HIQA has denied the HSE’s request to register the Killarney Community Nursing Unit (CNU), further delaying its opening.
The South West Regional Health Forum took place today at County Buildings in Tralee.
Councillors were told that the HSE will carry out the minor works requested by the health watchdog for Killarney Community Nursing Unit in order to get it registered.
The HSE stated that it’s hoped these assurances will be sufficient for HIQA to grant provisional registration of the unit in the coming days.
HSE representatives were responding to a motion by independent councillor Jackie Healy Rae asking when exactly the new nursing unit is going to open.
He was told it is hoped an opening date for the unit will be quickly agreed, subject to HIQA registration, and the conclusion of ongoing engagements with staff unions.
Kerry County Councillors expressed extreme frustration, with Labour councillor Marie Moloney comparing delays with the Killarney Community Nursing Unit to the National Children's Hospital debacle, and calling it a 'disgrace'.
Cllr Jackie Healy Rae had also asked the HSE to outline on how many occasions it had engaged with the INMO between May 2025 and 31st March 2026 regarding the opening of the Killarney CNU.
He was told that HSE South West had engaged with the INMO “on several occasions both face to face and via letter”.
Formal weekly meeting with local unions and St Columbanus staff began in mid-April (14 April), and were described as “extremely productive”.
Sinn Fein councillor Deirdre Ferris said that councillors "cannot get a straight answer" from the HSE.
The HSE’s Sonya Cotter says she told the Minister for Health last Thursday that the Killarney CNU will be opened by the end of June.
