2026-01-28

I want to raise a pressing issue that is affecting my constituency of Dublin Fingal West, particularly Balbriggan but also Rush, Lusk, Skerries and more rural areas. There is ongoing pressure on Drogheda and Beaumont hospitals that could be alleviated to some degree by the establishment of a minor injuries clinic hub in Balbriggan. There are now approximately 30,000 people living in Balbriggan . In total, there are between 60,000 to 70,000 people living in that part of the constituency. This is a large and growing community that relies almost entirely on the emergency departments in Beaumont and Drogheda for the treatment of minor injuries. As we know, these hospitals are under tremendous strain. Constituents regularly report waiting eight, ten or 12 hours for treatment of injuries, such as sprains, small breaks and minor infections, that do not require full hospital interventions. This is not fair on patients or hospital staff. We all accept that hospital emergency departments must prioritise serious cases. However, the reality is that a significant proportion of attendances at Beaumont and Drogheda hospitals could be treated in properly staffed community-based minor injury hubs. It has already been agreed that there is a need to establish a minor injury hub plan for Balbriggan as well in the context of the wider hospital avoidance strategy. The proposal is about prevention, efficiency and patient dignity. What is particularly frustrating for people locally is that we are repeatedly told that Balbriggan primary care centre is full, when, in fact, only a portion of the building is being leased by the HSE. It is therefore not at capacity. The entire building is not fully leased and, therefore, is not being fully utilised. There is space there that could be used for GP services. There is existing healthcare space in Balbriggan that could be used to deliver a minor injuries hub. The provision of such a hub could immediately reduce pressure on the emergency departments in Beaumont and Drogheda if the HSE engaged constructively on leasing and service planning. A minor injuries hub in Balbriggan would divert thousands of non-life-threatening cases away from Beaumont and Drogheda, free up emergency department capacity for critically ill patients, reduce waiting times and ambulance offloading delays and provide faster care closer to home for my constituents in Dublin Fingal West. This would align with Sláintecare and the HSE's hospital avoidance objectives. Other parts of the country already have minor injury units that operate for extended hours and that treat large volumes of patients safely and efficiently. Dublin Fingal West is one of the most rapidly expanding constituencies in the country and should not be an exception. I call on the Minister of State and the HSE to engage urgently with local representatives on available capacity within the Balbriggan primary care centre, progress a staffing and operations plan for a minor injuries hub and recognise that this project is a practical and cost-effective measure to relieve pressure on Beaumont and Drogheda hospitals. This is not about future planning. It is about addressing the needs of a population that already exists and of hospitals that are already under pressure. The demand is clear: hospitals need relief. It is time to move from acknowledgement to action.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. The Government remains fully committed to the implementation of healthcare reform under the Sláintecare framework, ensuring that patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time. Central to our hospital avoidance strategy is the development of injury units, which provide safe and efficient care for injuries that are unlikely to require hospital admission, such as broken bones, sprains and burns. These units are designed to provide the same level of care for specific conditions as an emergency department but more locally and with significantly shorter waiting times. By providing the same level of care for specific conditions as an emergency department but with significantly shorter waiting times, injury units play a vital role in reducing congestion in our acute hospitals. Last year, there were 222,697 attendances at injury units, representing a 5% increase compared to 2024. Crucially, the median patient experience time, PET, in an injury unit remains exceptionally low, at just 1.3 hours, ensuring that patients with non-life-threatening injuries can access the care they need much more quickly than in a traditional emergency department setting. In relation to Balbriggan, the Balbriggan primary care centre already delivers a broad range of integrated services to meet the health needs of the local population. These include primary care therapy services, community specialist teams for older people, a chronic disease hub, mental health services and disability services. The centre also hosts two GP practices and a pharmacy. The Minister is committed to building capacity in primary care by recruiting additional staff and promoting advanced practice roles in the community. The HSE undertook a national injury unit review in 2023 to examine service levels and geographical coverage. This review has informed the 2026 national service plan, which includes provision for new units in Tallaght, Athlone, Carlow and Ballina. Regarding the Deputy's request for a minor injury hub, I must advise that while the HSE undertook a national injury unit review in 2023 to examine geographical coverage, there are currently no plans to open an injury unit in Balbriggan. The 2026 national service plan focuses on new units in Tallaght, Athlone, Carlow and Ballina. However, the HSE continues to review expansion plans and future-proof the system by working towards standardising opening hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, across existing sites to improve accessibility. Residents in Balbriggan currently have access to the following options for non-life-threatening injuries: the Mater Smithfield rapid injury clinic in Dublin 7; the Dundalk injury unit at St. Joseph's Hospital; and Connolly hospital emergency department, which features a dedicated nurse-led minor injury unit. The Department and the HSE will continue to monitor population growth and geospatial implications to ensure that our urgent care footprint evolves to meet the needs of growing communities like Balbriggan.

While I welcome the Minister of State's comments on the need to move appropriate services out of acute hospitals into smaller community-based hubs, and the policy direction is absolutely correct, Balbriggan is the type of location where this should be applied in practice. A community-based hub at Balbriggan would work extremely well under the pull-out model, especially for services that do not need to be delivered in acute hospital settings. This is particularly important for older people who are often the most disadvantaged by longer waiting times, overcrowded hospitals and extended waiting periods. In addition, a community hub at Balbriggan could accommodate preventative and routine services, such as vaccination clinics, baby and child health services and other primary and community care services that are currently fragmented and over-centralised. This approach would reduce footfall in our hospitals, improve uptake of preventative care and better serve Dublin Fingal West. Importantly, the infrastructure already exists in Balbriggan. As I outlined, the primary care centre there is not completely leased by the HSE meaning there is real potential to expand services without the delays and costs of a new build. I urge the Minister of State to ensure Balbriggan, while not in the plan for 2026, is actively considered under the pull-out scheme and that the HSE engages locally to deliver a community hub that reflects Government policy and local population need. This is exactly the type of initiative that makes Sláintecare real on the ground. We need to make a plan for Balbriggan to keep people, not just in Balbriggan but in Rush, Lusk and Skerries at the rural end, in the constituency and not travelling. I accept there are the three locations the Minister of State outlined, but we should keep it within the community rather than send people into Dublin or up to Louth.

Once again, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. As I said, I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. The Government remains committed to the implementation of healthcare reforms that ensure patients receive safe and convenient care in the right place at the right time. Last year, we saw 222,697 attendances at injury units across the country, which was a 5% increase. This demonstrates the growing public confidence in this model. By maintaining an exceptionally low median patient experience time of just 1.3 hours, these units provide an efficient and faster pathway for those with non-life-threatening injuries. While there are currently no plans for a stand-alone injury unit at Balbriggan, we are future-proofing the national network by standardising opening hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, and opening new units in Tallaght, Athlone, Carlow and Ballina. In the interim, Balbriggan primary care centre continues to play a vital role in delivering a vast array of integrated services from chronic disease management and older people's specialist teams to mental health and disability services. I assure the Deputy that I am committed to building further capacity in primary care by recruiting additional staff and promoting advanced practice roles to meet the needs of a growing population. The Department and the HSE will continue to monitor population growth and geospatial requirements to ensure our service evolves to meet the needs of the people of Balbriggan.