BY SEAN MORIARTY

A series of interconnected healthcare developments in Killarney are facing significant setbacks and raising serious questions about planning and communication. From the long-awaited Áras Phádraig redevelopment to the delayed opening of the new Community Nursing Unit (CNU), and the shifting plans for the Minor Injury Unit, there is growing confusion.

In this news special the Killarney Advertiser looks at how one project has a knock-on effect on the others.

Áras Phádraig Redevelopment: Caution Warranted

The unanimous approval for the Áras Phádraig redevelopment is welcome news. After years of delays, progress is finally anticipated and Cllr Niall ‘Botty’ O'Callaghan hopes this project will be “a legacy of the current municipal district council.”

Despite the positivity around The Áras Phádraig’s long-awaited redevelopment, it is facing some scrutiny, with several councillors voicing concerns over the scale of the proposed project. While acknowledging the need for town enhancement, elected representatives believe the current plan is excessive and will create other issues, particularly with parking. The proposed development includes a Primary Care Centre with over 100 clinic rooms and a concert theatre capable of accommodating 350 people. The full plan is subject to the HSE building the Primary Care Centre on the site. Without HSE involvement, government funding for the concert theatre and other facilities would not be forthcoming. Despite councillors’ reservations about the HSE’s involvement they felt their hands were tied and voted in favour of the redevelopment. However, the necessity of HSE backing for the project raises concerns.

Conflict

The recent announcement that the new Minor Injury Unit  (A&E) for Killarney will be located at St Columbanus Home creates a potential conflict. Fitting out St Columbanus Home for A and E use will require significant time and resources. This cannot happen until current patients are moved to the new facility, which is now expected to open much later than previously expected. The HSE will then be tasked with refitting St Columbanus Home while planning the Áras Phádraig upgrade, raising questions about the efficiency and feasibility of both projects.

Why not invest all the resources into the Áras Phádraig or St Columbanus Home redevelopment, solving all problems at once? Or vice-versa, except that the HSE has said that the Lewis Road site was the only one available to it for the purpose of a Primary Care Centre. This statement needs to be examined too given the amount of land the HSE owns in Killarney.

Is there a risk that Killarney will either gain a new derelict building at St Columbanus Home or, worse, end up with a new primary care unit there while Áras Phádraig remains untouched?

A concern raised by Cllr Grady is the selection of Áras Phádraig as the location for the Primary Care Centre. He pointed out that this decision leaves the District Hospital, a HSE-owned property which also has the potential to house the Primary Care Centre, vacant. He criticised the handover of town assets to the HSE, arguing that the agency already possesses other land and properties that could have been utilised for the project.

Parking Concerns

Cllr Grady also believes the current plan is excessive and will create issues with parking. The Áras Phádraig plan would eliminate 59 car parking spaces, raising concerns about where people will park in a town already struggling with congestion.

Cllr Grady described the project as “chaotic” due to the town’s existing parking shortage. While he agreed that the concert theatre fits the area, he took issue with the Primary Care Centre’s proposed six-storey height, calling it “too high, unsightly, and unfair” to nearby residents of Lewis Road and its surroundings.

Hospital opening delayed until late 2025

The opening of the new Community Nursing Unit on the grounds of St. Finan's has been delayed until the fourth quarter of 2025 at the earliest.

This delay is due to a combination of construction issues and ongoing work. Originally, the CNU was scheduled to open in late 2024. However, a snag list revealed substantial problems with the building's floors. Sources have confirmed to the Killarney Advertiser that sections of the flooring are being re-laid, resulting in additional costs and time.

The CNU, located on the grounds of the old St Finan's Hospital, will replace the services currently provided at St Columbanus Home and the District Hospital. The delay will impact the planned relocation of patients from these facilities, which in turn affects the timeline for the development of the Minor Injuries Clinic (A&E), also planned for St Columbanus Home.

“The HSE is not being fully transparent on its plans for the property it owns in Killarney,” Mayor Maura Healy-Rae told the Killarney Advertiser.

Minor Injury Unit to be located at St Columbanus

It has been revealed this week that the new Minor Injury Clinic will be located at St Columbanus Home, adding further confusion to the overall health plan for Killarney. This information was revealed after TD Danny Healy-Rae raised the matter in a parliamentary question in the Dáil last week.

According to Healey-Rae’s reply from the HSE, work on the Minor Injury Unit will begin after the new Killarney Clinical Nursing Unit (CNU) is completed and residents and staff from St. Columbanus Home have been transferred to the new facility. The CNU, located on the grounds of the old St Finan's Hospital, is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2025.

St Finan's site overlooked

While delays plague the opening of the new Community Nursing Unit (CNU) and questions arise over the Áras Phádraig redevelopment, the future of the old St Finan's site appears to have been sidelined.

Just last month, TD Michael Cahill indicated the Minor Injuries Clinic would be located on the grounds of St Finan's and adjacent to the Community Nursing Unit site. Cahill was told an interim primary care clinic would be based in St Finan’s, which begs the question if the HSE is committed to developing a primary care clinic as part of the Áras Phádraig site why not invest all resources there?

However, the recent parliamentary question to the Minister for Health, asked by Danny Healy-Rae TD, revealed a different plan. This announcement raises questions about the previously stated plans for the St Finan's site, leaving its future uncertain.

FOUR BUILDINGS, ONE STORY RECAP

Áras Pháidraig
Councillors met and voted last Friday. Any proposed redevelopment of the Áras Pháidraig building must include a Primary Care Unit or Government funding will not be forthcoming. The project now depends on planning permission and the transfer of a portion of the lands to the HSE.

St. Columbanus
Due to be vacated later this year on completion of the new hospital on the grounds of St Finan’s. This site is now being mooted as an accident and emergency clinic but will require a refit once vacated.

St Finan’s
Killarney Community Nursing Unit (CNU) is under construction on the grounds of the old psychiatric hospital, but it will be at least Quarter 4 2025 before it is fully operational, nearly one year later than originally planned. There are also proposals to build a temporary day-care and out-patients clinic adjacent to the new hospital while waiting for the Áras Pháidraig proposition to be completed.

District Hospital
The question has to be asked what is the future of the District Hospital? Will it join the growing list of public-owned buildings in Killarney (St Finan’s, Pretty Polly and Áras Pháidraig) that are allowed fall into dereliction while decisions on their future are awaited from the powers that be?