Taoiseach Enda Kenny, TD, has confirmed that the planning application is to proceed for a new Mayo Roscommon Hospice facility in Castlebar. The new 14 bed facility, which is to be located at Knockaphunta in Castlebar will also provide a day care service, a base for the Hospice home-care team and accommodation for families who wish to remain overnight and is to be developed in conjunction with the HSE.
The Taoiseach said “This is a great day for Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation and the people of the two counties with this, the launch of phase one of their Hospice building programme. Mayo has long been in need of a dedicated Hospice and I commend the excellent efforts of the Mayo Roscommon Hospice team and volunteers over the years in this regard. I want to commend, in particular the efforts of Ms Cynthia Clampett, Chief Executive of the Mayo Roscommon Hospice, for her outstanding dedication and hard work in terms of bringing this to fruition.
This follows on from an announcement by the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, TD, that funding for the hospice will be designated as a priority for revenue support from 2017. The Hospice will raise and invest in the region of € 8m on the design, planning and construction of the facility with the revenue costs or day-to-day operating costs in the region of €3 million per annum. It is expected that the new facility will support and greatly enhance the total service provided by Mayo Roscommon Hospice and that the necessary planning application will proceed shortly. It will be of enormous comfort and relief to the many patients who will use its facilities in the years to come.”
He went on to say that “the facility will enhance the level of services already available in Castlebar and now being improved by reconstruction of the Sacred Heart Home, the construction underway of a special Cystic Fibrosis unit on the grounds of Mayo General Hospital and a new Primary Care Centre to be built shortly in the town for which approval has been granted. So, once again, I warmly welcome this great news for Mayo Roscommon Hospice and the people of the West. ”
