OVER 100 JOBS have been created in north Dublin after it was announced a €14 million primary healthcare facility has received the go-head to start construction.

The location of the facility, in Minister for Health James Reilly’s constituency, was met with controversy last year when it was deemed that it was added to a priority list of towns vying for the new centres at the last minute.

Internal government documents shows that Swords and Balbriggan (also in Minister Reilly’s constituency) were only added to the list of towns being considered for primary care centres on the night before the list was released to the public.

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny denied that Minister Reilly construed the list saying he “had no function whatsoever in selecting sites from Primary Care centres, as distinct from locations”.

80 permanent jobs

When completed, the Balbriggan primary health care centre will employ over 80 permanent staff in its pharmacy, café, retail units, doctors’ surgeries and offices. It will also house HSE facilities,  including nurses rooms, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, social worker offices, dental services, community mental health teams and a mental health day hospital.

Fingal County Council has granted planning permission for the new centre on Dublin Street and work is expected to take 12 months.

Read: Reilly spokesman rejects SF claims of NAMA talks on Balbriggan site>

More: Swords and Balbriggan added to primary care list night before announcement>