Killarney councillors revoke approval for primary care centre

They had approved plans for Áras Phádraig, a €47m primary care centre, theatre, and plaza last year

Mon, 28 Jul, 2025 - 01:00

Anne Lucey

Councillors in Killarney have voted to reject plans for a €47m primary care centre and theatre redevelopment — having previously approved the scheme.

However, they have been warned that their alternative proposal to exclude the primary care centre and instead include a new library and civic buildings may not attract funding.

Last April, six of Killarney’s seven municipal councillors approved plans for a €47m six-storey primary care centre, a three-storey small theatre, and plaza at the Áras Phádraig site on Lewis Rd.

Around €21m was to be invested in the plaza and buildings, with €16m to come from the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), €5m from the council, and the remaining money to be invested by the HSE for the child and adolescent and adult medical services.

Two previous HSE plans refused

Twice previously the HSE had sought to build a primary care centre in Killarney, but these plans had been refused, most recently in 2011 when the Reeks Gateway building was rejected by An Bord Pleanála.

Four years of planning and design had gone into this latest project which was before the council by way of a Part 8 Process — a proposal by management for planning approval to be voted on by councillors after public advertisement. The Part 8 process had to be restarted after management discovered not all submissions had been put to the councillors.

Some 162 public submissions, the majority of them opposed to the project, were then submitted. Fears were voiced over loss of public paid parking spaces, and the sale of a council-owned site to the HSE which already has large landbanks in Killarney and a number of vacant buildings.

Concerns also included the height of the HSE building and further congestion Lewis Rd.

Following these submissions, councillors have now said they can not ignore public opposition to the project, and that they had not been furnished with full information when originally approving the plan.

Mayor of Killarney Martin Grady said all seven councillors agreed they wished to put forward an alternative proposal to include the relocation of the library and administrative offices for the town council and a meeting room along with a theatre.

Labour councillor Marie Moloney said of the combined HSE and council proposal:

We were elected by the public and it is obvious it is not what the public wanted.

In response, Killarney town manager Angela McAllen said it was her duty to warn of the risks associated with the rejection and the new proposal.

A substantial amount of work had gone into the project; the €47m capital investment would return a value of €133m, she said.

“There is a risk with this. The URDF may not agree with what is proposed,” said Ms McAllen.

There was no funding available for a standalone theatre, she added.

Senior engineer Frank Hartnett said that he had warned that any changes to the current proposals would require “a brand new proposal”.

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Another stakeholder would have to be found instead of the HSE to qualify for URDF funding and there was a substantial risk that it won’t be funded now, he said.

“I am cautioning ye not to do anything rash here,” Mr Hartnett advised the seven councillors.

However, in a proposal by Fianna Fáil’s Niall Kelleher, seconded by Brendan Cronin, all seven voted against the manager’s proposal to approve the theatre and primary care plan. Management said they would work with the council on the new plan.