‘Major breakthrough’: Healthcare hub plan for Longford to create 40 jobs
Senator Joe Flaherty: ‘Sale of Providers is a major breakthrough for Longford town centre’
The sale of the former Providers building on Lower Main Street in Longford Town is set to pave the way for the development of a modern Community Healthcare Hub and the creation of between thirty and forty jobs.
The building has been idle since the McGinnity family moved their long established business to Richmond Street in 2008 and Longford County Council members approved the sale of the building during a specially convened meeting this afternoon.
Senator Joe Flaherty, who worked closely with the project promoters, said he was very pleased councillors approved the planned sale.
He remarked, “It is a major breakthrough for the town after nearly twenty years and the project is the perfect fit as we seek to rejuvenate Lower Main Street.”
He paid tribute to Longford County Council Deputy Chief Executive, John Brannigan and local auctioneer, Sean Dalton, who both tirelessly championed the sale of the property over several years.
With definite plans and major construction works due to start at Connolly Barracks later this year, Senator Flaherty said the focus now has to be on the empty shopping centre.
He stated, “As long as I have been in politics I have sought investment for these three locations and it is clear now that the empty shopping centre will be the missing link in a transformed Longford. I have repeatedly called on the Council to purchase that building for their new headquarters and with Providers now off the market, it seems an eminently sensible suggestion.”
Led by Dr Neil Healy and the Bellview Clinics Group, the Community Healthcare Hub proposal is grounded in an established healthcare network currently serving approximately 40,000–50,000 patients across the Midlands, with a team of around 90 staff, ensuring that the project is both deliverable and sustainable.
Dr Healy said, “We are genuinely honoured to have the opportunity to bring forward this proposal for Longford. We are very conscious of the responsibility that comes with a project of this scale, particularly in such a central and important location within the town.”
Dr Healy is a GP and Managing Partner of the Bellview Clinics Group with his wife, Dr Paula Donnelly.
Bellview Clinics are an established primary care network operating across Longford and Westmeath.
Dr Healy is a former student of Moyne CS where his father, Tim Healy was a teacher and his mother is Marie O’Flaherty from Arva.
Dr Healy has a strong interest in diagnostics, minor surgery and integrated models of care. He is an accredited ambulatory surgeon, an ICGP GP Trainer, and a university tutor with the University of Limerick.
The healthcare hub will deliver a comprehensive range of services including general practice, consultant outpatient care, community pharmacy, diagnostics, mental health supports, physiotherapy, dental care, and preventative health programmes.
In addition to healthcare benefits, the development is expected to:
- Create 30–50 long-term jobs
- Increase daily footfall in the town centre
- Support local businesses
- Provide training and education opportunities for healthcare professionals