Planning granted for €14m Balbriggan care centre

Plans for a new €14m healthcare facility in north Co Dublin have been approved today.

Fingal County Council has granted planning permission for the centre on Dublin Street in Balbriggan.

The location of the facility, in Minister for Health James Reilly’s constituency, was met with controversy last year when it was deemed that it was added to a priority list of towns vying for the new centres at the last minute.

Internal government documents shows that Swords and Balbriggan (also in Minister Reilly’s constituency) were only added to the list of towns being considered for primary care centres on the night before the list was released to the public.

More than 100 jobs are to be created during the construction of the facility which is expected to take 12 months. Around 80 permanent staff will be employed at the centre.

The four-storey building includes a pharmacy, café, retail units, doctors’ surgeries and 50 parking spaces.

It will also house HSE facilities including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social worker offices, dental services and community mental health teams.