Meeting the minister on the Edenderry ambulance station issue wereCllr Liam Quinn, Cllr John Foley, Minister Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, James Kennedy, Willie Merriman, Cllr Noel Bourke, Cllr Martin O'Reilly. Seated in front are Clle Eddie Fitzpatrick, Minister Simon Harris and Cllr Noel Cribbin.

Work on €1.8m Edenderry ambulance base to start in spring

Work on a new €1.8m ambulance base in Edenderry is set to begin next spring.

Details on the development on the long called for permanent ambulance based in the town was revealed following a meeting between local politicians and Minister for Health Simon Harris.

Minister for Health Promotion Marcella Corcoran Kennedy and the six members of Edenderry Municipal District met with the minister to discuss the timeline for the state of the art base.

Speaking after the meeting, Deputy Corcoran Kennedy said that the news that funding for the base has been ring fenced in next year’s budget was warmly welcomed by all present.

Tenders for the project are due back to the HSE on December 19 and a contractor should be appointed by the end of January. It’s estimated that the project will take nine months to complete and the base will be operational by the early 2018.

Deputy Corcoran Kennedy also revealed that the Edenderry ambulance service, which has been based in Tullamore for a number of months, will be shortly returning to the town.

“The HSE Estates group have come to an agreement to lease out a warehouse unit in Edenderry Business Park to serve as a medium term solution until the new facility is ready. It is estimated that this station will be available on the 17th of March. Until then the ambulance service will be based at Ofalia House as a short term solution.

“I warmly welcome the positive developments arising from last night’s meeting Government Buildings, this is good news for the town of Edenderry and its environs.”

Cllr Noel Cribbin said that he and his colleagues were “delighted” with the assurances that they received from the minister about the development of the “state of the art” ambulance base, which has already been granted planning permission by Offaly County Council.

“It’s a new build not like the normal bases that are around the county. It the first of its type in the country.”

Cllr Liam Quinn also welcomed the news about the ambulance base. In a statement issued on Thursday morning, Cllr Quinn said that he and his fellow councillors “outlined to the minister the concerns that local people had in relation to the service having been reduced in Edenderry in recent months and also discussed the number of call outs that the service had received per month which further illustrated the need for this service to be reinstated full-time,” he said.