Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Update 31st August

Health Minister to turn the sod on new Boyle Primary Care Centre next Wednesday
Senator Frank Feighan has confirmed that the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, will turn the sod on the new Primary Care Centre in Boyle on Wednesday morning next, September 7th.
“I am delighted that Minister Harris has accepted my request to turn the sod on this project, which is currently under construction on the grounds of the Plunkett Home.
“Minister Harris will perform the ceremony before he travels to Roscommon Town to officially open the new Endoscopy Unit at the County Hospital.
“This is a great day for Roscommon where the Minister for Health will personally endorse two significant health facilities for the county.
“The Boyle Primary Centre is scheduled to open from September of next year and will offer a range of services to the local community.
 “The centre will ensure that the local community has improved access to a greater range of health services on their own doorstep and under the one roof.”


Monday, August 29, 2016

Feighan welcomes 160 new Vistamed jobs in Carrick-on-Shannon


 Senator Frank Feighan has said that the creation of a further 200 new jobs at Vistamed in Carrick-on-Shannon is a major endorsement for the pool of talent which exists in Leitrim and the surrounding region.

“This significant jobs boost is clear evidence that counties like Leitrim have the skilled talent and infrastructure to attract major international companies.

 “Today’s jobs announcement has given another huge vote of confidence to the community of Carrick-on-Shannon and Rooskey where its other plant is located. This jobs boost follows on from another major jobs announcement made by the company only two years ago.

 “Vistamed’s total workforce is now more than 525, making it a vital employer in this region. This is very clear evidence that Leitrim and this part of the country has the capacity to deliver even more jobs of this type.


“I want to pay tribute to Vistamed for this further investment of €10m which underlines its long-term commitment to the plants in Carrick-on-Shannon and Rooskey.”

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Update 25th August



Feighan welcomes visit of Health Minister next month to officially open new €6m Endoscopy Unit at Roscommon Hospital

Senator Frank Feighan has welcomed the confirmation that Health Minister Simon Harris will officially open the new €6m Endoscopy Unit at Roscommon Hospital on Thursday, September 8th.
“I’m delighted that Minister Harris has accepted my invitation to formally open the Endoscopy Unit, which is already operational.
“This 14,000 square foot state-of-the-art unit will become a diagnostic centre for the whole Western region.  
“It is facilitating a range of scope procedures for patients, including colonoscopies, and the new unit will perform three times as many endoscopy procedures at the hospital than previously.
“This multi-million euro investment ensures that the number of patients treated in Roscommon will continue to rise and add substantially to the general increase in activity at the hospital.

 “I gave a commitment to secure significant investment for Roscommon Hospital and the Endoscopy Suite is part of a €20m investment earmarked for the hospital.”

Update 25th August - Endoscopy Unit at Roscommon Hospital opening

August 25th 2016

Feighan welcomes visit of Health Minister next month to officially open new €6m Endoscopy Unit at Roscommon Hospital

Senator Frank Feighan has welcomed the confirmation that Health Minister Simon Harris will officially open the new €6m Endoscopy Unit at Roscommon Hospital on Thursday, September 8th.
“I’m delighted that Minister Harris has accepted my invitation to formally open the Endoscopy Unit, which is already operational.
“This 14,000 square foot state-of-the-art unit will become a diagnostic centre for the whole Western region.  
“It is facilitating a range of scope procedures for patients, including colonoscopies, and the new unit will perform three times as many endoscopy procedures at the hospital than previously.
“This multi-million euro investment ensures that the number of patients treated in Roscommon will continue to rise and add substantially to the general increase in activity at the hospital.

 “I gave a commitment to secure significant investment for Roscommon Hospital and the Endoscopy Suite is part of a €20m investment earmarked for the hospital.”

Monday, August 22, 2016

Senator Feighan calling on Health Minister to consider Carrick-on-Shannon as part location for European Medicines Agency



 Senator Frank Feighan is calling on the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, to consider Carrick-on-Shannon as part location for the European Medicines Agency.

“The EMA is an EU regulatory body responsible for the protection of public and animal health through the scientific evaluation and supervision of medicines. Because of the Brexit vote in the UK, the agency will now have to move from Canary Wharf in London and this could provide a real opportunity for the North-West region here.

“This agency has many areas of expertise. For example, it has seven committees that carry out its scientific assessments. Some of this activity could be located in Carrick-on-Shannon because there is plenty of office space in the town and in other local towns in the region.

“Carrick-on-Shannon is well placed geographically too. It is widely acknowledged now that you can make it to the Leitrim county town in an hour and half from Dublin Airport whereas you will find it very difficult to get from Heathrow Airport to Canary Wharf in that time.

“The EMA employs about 900 people and locating part of this agency to this side of the country would be a huge boost for the regional economy along with its additional spin-offs.

“I have already had recent discussions with industry professionals about the possibility of locating some EMA activity  to this region. This meeting in Carrick-on-Shannon was also attended by Sligo/Leitrim TD Tony McLoughlin and local councillor, Finola Armstrong-McGuire. 

“I know that the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, is preparing a bid to bring the EMA to Dublin but I will be raising with him the importance of considering this North West region as a possible part location for the EMA.

“This region has a rich pool of highly skilled graduates who no doubt would love the opportunity of working on their own doorstep with this prestigious agency. I will certainly be working closely with the Minister to ensure that this opportunity is explored.”

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Boyle Primary Care Centre complete by August 2017

HSE confirms new Boyle Primary Care Centre will be complete by August 2017

Senator Frank Feighan has received confirmation from the HSE that the new Primary Care Centre in Boyle is due to be completed by the end of August next year.

“Following its completion, the HSE informed me that the Centre will be open from September 2017 and will offer a range of services to the local community.

“It’s great to see that construction on the 17,000 square foot two-storey building, on the grounds of the Plunkett Home, is well underway.

“The facility will offer GP suites, consulting rooms, dental services, physiotherapy and occupational therapy suites along with a separate dental wing.

"Mental health outpatient clinics, paediatric physiotherapy and occupational therapy and ophthalmology clinics are among the other services which will be located there.

“The centre, which I helped to secure funding for, will ensure that the local community has improved access to a greater range of health services on their own doorstep and under the one roof.”

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Major N61 road safety works

August 9th 2016

Major N61 road safety works near Boyle are on target for completion in November

Senator Frank Feighan has said that the major road safety works being carried out on the N61 are on target for completion in November.

The Senator said that Roscommon County Council has confirmed that the ongoing major road realignment works near Boyle is set to be finished by that time as the council are planning a second road diversion in order to complete the works.

“When completed, these significant safety improvement works near Boyle will see the realignment of approximately 1.1 km of road on two sections of the N61 at Treanagry and Rathallen.

“These realignment works will finally remove two of the most dangerous stretches of road in Roscommon, which have been there since the foundation of the State. In the last Government, I was very pleased to have secured the €6m in funding needed to carry out works which are so considerable, roads unfortunately have to be closed.

“This road between Boyle and our County Town was in need of an upgrade and while more work is required, the results of these realignment works will reflect the ongoing improvement of the road.
“As many motorists and local communities already know and are affected by it on a daily basis, a road closure is already in place between Boyle and Caldra. The works will now involve another significant road diversion which will see the closure of the road from Tulsk to Fourmilehouse from Monday, August 29th to Friday, September 23rd inclusive.

 “While I strongly welcome these safety works being carried out, I do hope that this road scheme will be finished by the target date in order to remove the inconvenience and disruption for those most affected by the roadworks. Full details of the planned second road closure and the new diversion are on the Roscommon County Council website.”
Ends

Contact Senator Feighan, (086) 833 1234