Councillors to contact Minister if diabetes clinics not resumed in Carrick-on-Suir by March

A letter from the Health Minister describing the removal of multidisciplinary diabetes clinics from Carrick-on-Suir Primary Care Centre as “temporary” has been cautiously welcomed by councillors who have resolved to apply more political pressure if the service isn’t restored by March.

Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill’s written response to Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District councillors’ letter calling for a review of the decision to remove the diabetes clinics due to limited availability of clinical rooms offers hope they will return to the Pill Road based primary care centre.

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Carrick Municipal District Administrator Marie Cox read out the Health Minister’s letter at the December meeting of the district’s councillors in Carrick-on-Suir Town Hall.

Carrick-on-Suir Cllr Kieran Bourke, who first highlighted the loss of the clinics, said he was happy with the Minister’s response, which he noted differed from the response Independent TD Mattie McGrath received from the HSE when he tabled a Parliamentary Question in the Dáil about their removal in October.

Paul Goff, the HSE’s Acting Head of Primary Care Services for South Tipperary, informed Deputy McGrath the decision to operate the clinics from Our Lady’s Hospital in Cashel and St Vincent’s Health Centre in Tipperary Town was an “interim measure” and they would be permanently relocated to the newly refurbished Tipperary South Chronic Disease Community Specialist Services in Clonmel.

Cllr Bourke said Minister Carroll MacNeill clearly stated in her letter that the removal of the clinics was temporary and proposed they accept this letter and give the Minister and her department an opportunity to move the clinics back to Carrick Primary Care Centre.

However, if the clinics still haven’t resumed at the primary care centre by March, he proposed they write back to the minister and remind her of how she had stated their removal was just temporary and press for them to return.

The Fianna Fáil councillor pointed out the clinics didn’t just cater for people from Carrick-on-Suir with diabetes but also diabetes patients living in the wider Carrick Municipal District as well as communities in Carrick-on-Suir’s south Kilkenny and Waterford hinterlands.

Fine Gael Cllr Mark Fitzgerald from Cloneen seconded his proposal. “All we can do is take the letter at face value. It’s a lot better than the original response. Temporary is a word we can hold the minister to account on,” he said.

As a member of Minister Carroll MacNeill’s party, he vowed he would be the “first person to hold her to account” if the multi-disciplinary clinics weren’t restored.

Labour Cllr Michael ‘Chicken’ Brennan also supported Cllr Bourke’s proposal and agreed they should wait no longer than March to “tackle” this issue again.

Carrick MD Cathaoirleach Cllr David Dunne from Carrick-on-Suir described the difference between the responses of Deputy McGrath and Minister Carroll-MacNeill gave as “confusing”.

He also said the diabetes clinics weren’t the only health service being taken away from Carrick Primary Care Centre.

The Sinn Féin councillor pointed to the HSE’s response to a Parliamentary Question he received before Christmas that revealed plans to relocate consultant led cardiology services from Carrick Primary Care Centre to St Paul’s in Clonmel and Our Lady’s Hospital in Cashel in the first quarter of 2026 due to limited room availability at the centre because of the high demand from mental health services.

He said a senator has made enquiries about this and the word “temporary” was also used.

Cllr Dunne said he wasn’t going to “play politics” on this issue as it was too serious and agreed also to wait until March to hold the minister to account.

And he added that the HSE and Department should also restore St Brigid’s District Hospital in Carrick and declared that issue hasn’t gone away.

Cllr Bourke ended the debate by pointing out the same services now housed in Carrick’s €10m purpose built primary care service were previously accommodated in much smaller buildings.

“Now some bureaucrats are saying there isn’t enough room in the primary care centre. Someone needs to be held accountable,” he said.

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