HSE submits planning application for 20-bed Offaly hospice

THE Health Service Executive has formally submitted a planning application to Offaly County Council for a cutting-edge specialist Palliative Care unit in Tullamore.

The significant development will see the construction of a modern 3,805m2 hospice, designed to provide high-quality care and support for patients and families in need.The facility will feature a mix of one-and two-storey buildings, housing 20 inpatient bedrooms, dedicated day care services and essential administrative spaces.

To enhance accessibility and convenience, the project includes 80 parking spaces for staff and visitors, seven designated accessible bays, as well as 30 covered bicycle spaces.

Infrastructure improvements will be a key part of the plan, including a two-way carriageway, a new footpath and street lighting along Arden Lane.

Additionally road upgrades will be carried out on a section of Arden Lane to ensure smooth access to the hospice along with street lighting and new utilities to extend to the site from a new junction with a distributor road.

The initiative represents a major step forward in enhancing palliative care services in the region, bringing quality end-of-life care closer to those who need it most in Offaly, Laois, Westmeath and Longford.

The Arden Lane site was slected in September 2024 when the then Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly made the announcement.

Two locations had been under consideration for the development, the Arden Lane site and the Wellwood Health Campus which is located just off the N52 bypass and already has planning approval for a 99 bed hospital.

When making the announcement last September, the Minister said the Arden Lane land had scored highest in a competitive process run by the HSE.

At the time of the announcement the Minister stipulated that a planning application must be lodged and permission granted along with ''an agreed road widening plan and funded commitments from the relevant state bodies to bring services to the Arden Lane site,'' within 12 months.

Tullamore Lions Club have been fund raising for the hospice since January 2020. The project saw farmers rear animals for sale under the Hooves4Hospice initiative. A substantial amount of money was raised. In 2022 Taoiseach Michael Martin announced €20 million in government funding to go towards the construction costs.

The planning application is now in the hands of Offaly County Council who will make known its decision in the coming months.