06/10/2026
CLARE PEOPLE NEED EMERGENCY CARE, NOT ANOTHER PROMISE TO “KEEP IT UNDER REVIEW”
The Taoiseach's response to the concerns of people in West Clare is deeply disappointing. People in Clare are not asking for politics to replace clinical advice. We are asking the Government to apply clinical advice to the reality of County Clare.
And let's be very clear: we are not asking for every specialist service to be replicated in Ennis.
We are asking for a properly resourced emergency and acute-care hospital in Ennis, with the appropriate clinical links to UHL and other specialist centres. The Taoiseach repeatedly referred to "clinical advice" and warned against "political or non-medical considerations" influencing hospital decisions.
Fine. Then show us the quantitate evidence.
What clinical evidence says that the people of an entire county should have to travel to Limerick for emergency care?
What assessment has been made of the distances faced by people in West Clare?
What assessment has been made of ambulance response times and the consequences of long journeys?
What assessment has been made of the fact that Clare people are already travelling to UHL and Galway for urgent and emergency treatment?
And where is the evidence that developing emergency and acute services in Ennis would produce worse outcomes for Clare patients?
The Taoiseach's comparison with the centralisation of cancer services does not answer these questions. Nobody is arguing that highly specialised cancer treatment should be available in every county hospital. That is a completely different argument.
Emergency care is about getting sick and injured people to appropriate care quickly.
The Government cannot hide behind the phrase "clinical advice" without telling the people of Clare exactly what that advice says.
The HSE's own documents recognise Ennis as part of the Mid-West hospital network. Ennis already has inpatient beds, an Injury Unit and a Medical Assessment Unit. That demonstrates demand for care closer to people's homes.
And the Taoiseach himself acknowledged that UHL has had "serious issues".
So why is the answer apparently to continue concentrating emergency care in one location while telling Clare people that the configuration will simply be "kept under review"?
Clare has been under review for long enough.
The people of Doonbeg, Kilkee, Kilrush, Miltown Malbay, Ennistymon, Lisdoonvarna, Lahinch, and every community across this county deserve more than being told that they are on the map because of tourism. Being on the map for the Irish Open is one thing. Being able to reach appropriate emergency medical care when your life depends on it is quite another.
We need to stop presenting this as a choice between "clinical excellence" and "local services". We can have both.
We can have specialist centres of excellence in the region and a properly planned emergency and acute-care service in Ennis.
What Clare needs is not another vague commitment to "keep it under review".
We need the Government to properly assess the development in Ennis as a Model 3 emergency and acute hospital for County Clare, based on population, geography, demand, patient safety and access to care.
And if the Government says the evidence does not support that development, then publish the evidence.
Clare deserves to see it.
