2026-07-08

Mar a dúirt an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, táim ag iarraidh ábhar a ardú, is é sin, an gá le hionad gortuithe beaga do dhaoine i nGaillimh. Le tamall fada, táim den tuairim gur cheart go mbeadh ionad mar seo againn i nGaillimh. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss this issue. It has long been a contention of mine and, indeed, many others that Galway city and the wider region need, and would benefit from, a minor injuries unit. This unit should be located somewhere in the environs of Galway city. In February the HSE capital plan 2026 was published and the page detailing potential expenditure and infrastructural development in Galway noted a figure of €84,000 for the appraisal of a Galway injuries unit. I thought this was very welcome and I was hopeful there would be some progress on the issue. I was somewhat taken aback recently, following a parliamentary question in which I asked for an update on the development of this appraisal of a minor injuries unit in Galway, when the Minister, in her response, advised me that the HSE had advised her there was no plan to establish a new unit in Galway at this time. The reply stated the national injury unit expansion programme prioritises locations based on population need, geographical gaps and clinical safety considerations. On all of these issues, Galway would tick the box. If we take geographical gaps, there is one minor injuries unit in the entire HSE West and North West health area while there are three in County Cork alone. There is a clear geographical gap there. With regard to population need, Galway city is a significant population centre. To consider equivalent population centres, Limerick has a minor injuries unit, there are three in Cork and there are two in Dublin. On a population base, a unit in Galway is warranted. The area the appraisal needs to focus on is clinical safety consideration. The emergency department at University Hospital Galway is consistently under considerable pressure. I happened to be there on Monday night with a family member and the only way I can describe it is that there was limited standing room in the waiting area, such was the demand for people to be seen. For the third time this year, which I understand is an increase on previous years, management in the hospital has had to advise the public that, due to exceptionally high emergency demand, elective procedures have been postponed and urgent and time-sensitive procedures are being prioritised. Management of the hospital advising the public that elective or non-urgent procedures are being cancelled due to demand at Galway emergency department is becoming more frequent. If we were to develop a minor injuries unit in the city, it would relieve some of this demand. To look at data presented by the HSE this morning, there are 47 patients in the country waiting more than 24 hours in emergency departments throughout the country and nine of them are in Galway. This means 20% of the patients in this country who spent more than 24 hours in an emergency department over the past day or so are in Galway. There are considerable pressures on the emergency department in Galway. I know some of this is about increasing bed capacity in the hospital and there are plans to do that but it would be assisted if we developed a minor injuries unit, for which an allocation of funding for its appraisal was provided earlier this year. As I said, I visited the UHG on Monday night. I am not a doctor and I do not diagnose but, looking at some of the people waiting for treatment, I could see that a number had sports injuries. Had they the option to attend a minor injuries clinic, it would have freed up greater capacity in the emergency department and people would have had to spend less time there. I ask that the Minister consider this again.

I thank Deputy Connolly for raising this very important matter and for his continued engagement on urgency and emergency care capacity in Galway and the wider west and north west. I have answered many questions from Deputy Connolly on healthcare and I appreciate the focus he places on it. I will take this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. Ensuring that people receive the right care in the right place at the right time remains a core commitment of the Government under the Sláintecare reform programme. Injury units are a key part of this commitment. They provide safe convenient treatment for non-life-threatening injuries such as broken bones, sprains, minor burns and wounds, delivering the same standard of care as an emergency department but with significantly shorter waiting times and closer to home for many patients. This is exactly the point Deputy Connolly has been making with regard to how much he appreciates and supports what a minor injuries unit can provide. Nationally, injury units continued to perform strongly. Last year, they saw more than 222,000 attendances, a 5% increase on 2024. Up to the end of June this year, attendances reached 115,000, a further 2% increase on the same period in 2025. It is very clear how important minor injury units are in communities. Crucially, the median patient experience time remains exceptionally low, at just 1.2 hours. This demonstrates the value of injury units in providing rapid access to care and reducing pressure on emergency departments, particularly for lower acuity injuries. The HSE West and North West regional executive officer is working on the development of an investment package, including targeted supports for the Galway and Roscommon area. This includes enhancements to acute community and diagnostic capacity across the region. While this work is at an early stage, consideration is being given to the feasibility of the development of an injury unit in Galway. As Deputy Connolly has said, €84,000 has been provided. With the new structures, we now have six regional health areas and six regional executive officers. I know that Deputy Connolly knows the regional executive officer in the area, Tony Canavan, very well and it would be well worth having a conversation with him because an awful lot of decisions have been devolved to regional areas. The project is at appraisal stage, which involves assessing feasibility, demand, site suitability, clinical alignment, cost estimates and value-for-money considerations. Further updates will be available once the initial feasibility work has concluded. It is important to situate Galway within the wider national development pipeline. Four units are scheduled for delivery in 2026, at Athlone, Ballina, Carlow and Tallaght. These represent the current national pipeline and reflect the HSE's assessment of geographical gaps, population growth and clinical safety considerations. The HSE continues to review expansion needs and is working to future-proof the system by standardising opening hours to 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., seven days per week across existing sites. I know the Minister for Health and the Department see the merit in the expansion of minor injury units, and four are targeted for this year. The fact that €84,000 has been allocated for the appraisal of a Galway injury unit is very positive. It is important to get a line in the capital plan, and that is what happened. The Department will continue to engage closely with the HSE and the regional executive officer, REO, to ensure that Galway's urgent and emergency care services evolve in line with population growth, service demand and the needs of local communities. I will raise with the Minister the fact that the Deputy has raised this issue again. Conversations locally are important too.

I very much welcome the response. I particularly welcome the clarity it brings, in that the Minister of State said consideration is being given to the feasibility of the development of a minor injury unit in Galway. If I had not received a response from the Minister just last week advising me there were no current plans to establish a new unit in Galway at this time, I would not have been here this morning. There is clearly a discrepancy there. I can understand that occurs, but what concerns me also is that this discrepancy might also suggest the minor injury unit is not being afforded the importance and priority it should be as afforded as a health solution to address one of the significant problems we have in Galway, that being the delays in accident and emergency services. If we could develop this unit and drive this project in a quicker timeframe, it would help to alleviate some of the problems in accident and emergency services. I understand, as I said, that the greater solution to this problem in Galway is increased bed capacity. We are not going to see that for some time, but I welcome the appointment of a design team to develop two new bed blocks at University Hospital Galway. The team has commenced its work and we hope it will bring a proposal to the planning stage soon. We also hope the project will be included as a piece of critical infrastructure, and that the Government will consider that. In the intervening period, however, there is a need to address the issue of people waiting long periods, many for over 24 hours, in a temporary accident and emergency facility at University Hospital Galway. While it is an improvement on the previous facility, it is considered temporary. When we have the new additional bed blocks in the new hospital, perhaps we will be able to increase capacity there. In the intervening period, a minor injury unit would help a lot. I welcome the clarity today that it is being considered. I am happy with the Minister of State's advice and I will take this issue up with local health officials. In fairness to them, they give public representatives opportunities to meet them quarterly to discuss capital projects. The next time I meet them, I will certainly stress that this project is particularly important for the city, county and region.

I reiterate that the HSE West and North West regional executive officer, Mr. Canavan, is currently working on the development of an investment package, including targeted supports for both the Galway and Roscommon areas. This includes enhancements to acute, community and diagnostic capacity across the region. While this work is at an early stage, consideration is being given to the feasibility of the development of an injury unit in Galway. It is very important that I repeat that. A sum of €84,000 was allocated for the appraisal of a Galway injury unit. I have been a Minister of State in the Department of Health for the last six years. What we are about in the Department is improving capacity and trying to ensure the throughput in emergency departments and acute hospitals is fluid. It is also important that we deliver community supports on the ground. Some 225,000 people attended minor injury units last year, and the median time taken was one and a half hours. There is no comparison. I think the Deputy is pushing an open door, and he should continue to push it and engage locally as well. The Minister has a plan for this year to open four new units. Everything depends on funding and more units will be opened next year. The Deputy's intervention is very timely.