Offaly Fianna Fáil councillors to vote in favour of hospice project
The seven sitting Fianna Fáil councillors on Offaly County Council are expected to vote in favour of granting planning permission for a new Midland Hospice on a site at Tullamore's Arden Lane.
It is anticipated that all elected representatives on the council will be asked to cast their vote in favour of, or against a material contravention of the development plan to facilitiate a grant of planning permission for the long-awaited Midlands Hospice at the December monthly meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Monday week, December 15.
The Fianna Fáil grouping signalled their intention of voting in favour of the project in a statement issued to the local press this week, in which they said it is “vital” that the hospice be constructed in Offaly to serve the people of the Midlands.
Pointing out that the proposed hospice is “now a HSE-funded project,” the statement paid tribute to all the “local organisations and volunteers” who have raised money for the Midlands Hospice, in particular Hooves4Hospice and Office Hospice.
The Fianna Fáil statement follows the ending of the public consultation process this week on the proposed material contravention of the county development plan.
Offaly Hospice also issued a strongly-worded statement this week outlining the role it has played in the bid to secure a Midlands Hospice in Offaly since its foundation in 1990, and hitting back at “public commentary” in recent weeks which “may have created uncertainty” about its current role.
“Far from "blocking" or "refusing" a Regional Hospice, Offaly Hospice has led the Hospice project from the beginning” said the statement, which went on to outline the role played by the local charity, including the launch of the Midland Hospice Building Fund with €500,000 of “donated community funds” in May 2019, and the securing of the first site for the project – working alongside the HSE – on the grounds of the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore in October 2020.
Full architectural plans were “completed and agreed on” and ready to go to planning by October 2021, according to the statement which points out that “had this originally agreed project been allowed to continue, the Midlands Regional Hospice could very likely be built or nearing completion today”.
The statement goes on to say that planning problems on the Arden Lane site, which was offered to the HSE by Tullamore Lions Club/Hooves4Hospice, including rezoning, poor access and absent services, are now “front and centre of the planning process with the potential for further delays and escalating costs” and that two other sites, at Wellwood Health Park and also at the Regional Hospital are still available for consideration.
While the planning process is ongoing, Offaly Hospice said it “remains dedicated and committed” to patient welfare and continues to fund and support local palliative care services thanks to the “exceptional support” it receives from its volunteers and donors.