By Dara Gantly. Ireland’s banking system has been accused of slamming the brakes on the Primary Care Strategy after Bank of Ireland (BOI) withdrew support last Friday to fund the construction of the proposed Wicklow Primary Care Centre (PCC).
The 52,000sqft facility, expected to be the second-largest in the State, has an estimated development cost of €7 million and has been largely pre-let to the HSE and four local GP practices, comprising 10 GPs in total.
The centre has full planning permission, is ready to go and only lacks the bank’s support. Local builders JEN Properties had hoped to commence construction in April. The jobs of 100 construction workers may now be lost, along with 150 operational posts. Local builder Jimmy Esmonde, MD, JEN Properties, said: “We cannot understand the Bank’s decision. We have been working flat-out for the past 12 months and have now satisfied the terms and criteria required by the Bank in their proposal to us.
“There is no point in the Government having a strategy and this not being supported by the pillar banks, which in turn have been bailed out by the local people of Wicklow and throughout the country.”
Pat Nolan, Director with the property, healthcare and project management company Feasible, which is involved with the Wicklow project and eight other proposed primary care developments across the country — including Clondalkin, Terenure, Shankill, Blanchardstown and Dungarvan — told Irish Medical Times that the Wicklow PCC was a “microcosm” of why the Primary Care Strategy was not working and why it had stalled.
Local TD Andrew Doyle added that there was an obligation on the pillar banks to fund these exact projects. “It’s not acceptable for Bank of Ireland to receive European Central Bank (ECB) funding at minimal costs of 1 per cent and then not support viable projects. This project has the unanimous support of all local Councillors and TDs.
“We are calling for an urgent meeting with Bank of Ireland’s CEO Richie Boucher.”
Nolan believes this project is a true test of the Government’s mettle and commitment to job creation, its own health strategy and its control over the banks.
“It’s not an exaggeration to state that failure to develop Wicklow’s Primary Care Centre will mark the death knell for the Government’s ambitions to have over 200 such centres developed countrywide,” he added.
At time of going to press, the developers had not received a written indication from the Bank as to why it had rejected the development.
IMT was told by a BOI spokesperson that it does not comment on the affairs of any of its customers.
dara.gantly@imt.ie