Reilly: 'I stand over the decision'

Minister for Health James Reilly has defended the addition of two locations in his north Dublin constituency to a HSE list of places chosen for new primary care centres.

Minister of State for Primary Care Róisín Shortall said this morning that the Minister had questions to answer about the move.

Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One programme, Dr Reilly said he stood over the decision and would make “no apologies” for it.

“I made this decision, and I know [Ms Shortall] disagrees with it. But I have made the decision, and I have the authority to so do, I did so with good reason, I took advice here in the Department, I took further advice from the HSE, and I also consulted several ministerial colleagues.”

Dr Reilly said the original criteria for selecting the locations for the centres was based on the Urban Deprivation Index, but considerations must be broader and include the location of existing health facilities in the area and accessibility by public transport.

“As someone who has worked in the community, who understands general practice, who has the experience, I would be negligent in my duty if I ignored all those factors and merely adhered to the narrow criteria that was presented,” he said.

Dr Reilly said he added 15 new locations to the list altogether, bringing the total number to 35, which would raise the chances of achieving 20 sites at the end of the process.

“We have a situation in Ballyfermot where in 2007 we built a brand new primary care centre and it lay idle until earlier this year because the GPs refused to move in. I was not prepared to allow a situation to evolve where we would have 20 sites nominated, and we would be committed to those 20 […] with no arrangements for [the GPs] to work in them,” he said.

“I made it very clear when I came into government that I was not putting a shovel in the ground until the GPs are signed up. It is an utter waste of money.”

He said some of the locations on the original list have no sites available, so the “implementability of them was questionable”.

Balbriggan was worthy of inclusion because it has the second highest density of unemployment in Dublin, and has no direct links to Beaumont or Drogheda, he said. Swords has a population of 48,000, no primary health centre, and no direct link by public transport to Beaumont.

The HSE has signed a lease to provide a primary health care centre in Balbriggan, and a planning application will be submitted next month. “The GPs are on board,” Dr Reilly said.

It is also in “advanced negotiations” about leasing a premises in Swords. “And no, it’s not on a site I own,” he said.

When asked if he was troubled by Ms Shortall’s failure to express confidence in him when questioned by journalists this morning, Dr Reilly said “actions speak louder than words” and her vote against the no-confidence motion in the Minister on Wednesday had been an indication of her support.

“Róisin Shortall expressed confidence in the most emphatic way you can by voting confidence in the Dáil of this country, and that is plenty good enough for me,” he said.