Episode Details

It's feared the development of a new hospital in Ennis could be hamstrung by objections, unless a proposed reform of the planning system comes to pass. Ennis Municipal District has confirmed it's working with Clare County Council to identity sites suited to accommodate a new hospital in the county town. There was much excitement when the Health Minister committed to progressing all three recommendations of HIQA's review of emergency care capacity in the Midwest in the tail end of last year. Since then, the question of where the region's new model 3 hospital with an emergency department will be located has been to the forefront of the minds of local representatives in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary. At this week's meeting of Ennis's local elected representatives, Fianna Fáil Councillor Pat Daly has urged Ennis Municipal District to "take the lead" in finding a serviced site in the vicinity of the county town that can accommodate a new hospital. In response, Ennis MD says it's working with the Clare County Council's Planning Department to identify a "range of sites" potentially suited to such a facility. The consideration of sites, it claims is considered "sensitive" due to "landownership arrangements, HSE announcements and commercial sensitivities". It's also stated that the local authority is in regular contact with the HSE on this matter. Councillor Daly believes in the event Clare is chosen as the location of the new facility, there must be a site ready. Separately, a joint motion tabled at this week's meeting of Clare County Council has sought to commend the Government on recently-announced plans to clamp down on judicial reviews. The legislation in question would include a number of restrictions, including that applicants looking to make an objection must be directly affected by the development. Among those who put forward the motion were Councillor Daly and Mayor of Ennis, Fine Gael Councillor Mary Howard. Councillor Howard claims it's not unthinkable that a new hospital in the town could be held up by objectors, unless changes are implemented.