'Milestone day' for Tullamore as hospice project gets green light

On what was described as “a milestone day” for the Midlands, the elected members of Offaly County Council have today paved the way for the long-awaited construction of the Midlands Regional Hospice on a greenfield site on Arden Lane in Tullamore.

At their December monthly meeting this afternoon, all 19 elected members of the local authority voted in favour of a proposal by the leader of the Fianna Fail grouping, Cllr Peter Ormond, to amend the Offaly County Development Plan 2021-2027 to facilitate the development of the hospice.

“Democracy has spoken here today and I sincerely hope this issue has been put to bed once and for all,” remarked council cathaoirleach Cllr John Leahy, who expressed the hope that “nothing would impede” the building of the much-needed hospice facility for the people of the Midlands.

The HSE had sought planning permission to develop a new hospice catering for 20 inpatient beds at Arden Lane, Tullamore, complete with ancillary services, including a Day Therapy Unit and an education centre.

Last month, the local authority indicated it intended to consider granting planning permission for the project. However, it noted that the proposed development constitutes a material contravention of the Offaly County Development Plan 2021-2027. This arises when a planning application is made to a local authority which breaches the objectives of its own county development plan. The decision to either grant or refuse planning permission for any such project lies with the elected members and is classified as a reserved function.

Cllr Neil Feighery expressed the hope that the council vote would be “the final hurdle” for the hospice project. “It has been a challenging route to get this far, and I hope nothing else will now stand in the way of getting the hospice built.”

There was unanimous agreement among all the political groupings in the council chamber about the urgent need to get the hospice project underway, with Cllr Liam Quinn saying the Fine Gael members were “quite happy” to second the proposal of Cllr Peter Ormond to amend the County Development Plan to facilitate the development. “Sadly, most of us will need a facility such as this hospice at some stage in our lives, that's just the reality,” he said, “so this decision here today will put a clear line in the sand and allow this much-needed project to proceed.”

“We in Fianna Fail were never, ever against this proposal,” clarified the party's Tullamore-based councillor, Declan Harvey, who added that, before Deputy Barry Cowen became an MEP he had “sourced €24 million for this project.”

There was widespread praise for the many voluntary groups who have campaigned tirelessly for a midlands hospice, including Offaly Hospice, Tullamore Lions Club and the Hooves4Hospice campaign.

See full council report in this week's edition of the Offaly Independent