Tullow primary care centre gets green light

PLANS for a primary care centre in Tullow have been approved by Carlow Co Council.

Plans submitted to the council by Brian Dunlop Architects say the centre will ‘offer the public a single point of access to healthcare and social services’ and be an alternative to hospitals for the management of many aspects of healthcare for long-term conditions. Services to be offered include nursing, therapy, social working, general practice, dietetics, psychology and dental services.

The building will also include ten rooms for physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

Westcourt Healthcare (Tullow) Ltd applied for the permission on 17 July 2025 for a new building to accommodate HSE health and social care services on a grassland site off Abbey Street adjacent to the Tesco retail store and Tullow playground and skate park. Access will be provided through the existing road beside the Tesco store.

Twenty years ago, the site was subject to a planning application for the development of 245 residential units, which did not proceed. The project for a primary care centre was first mooted 14 years ago.

The primary care centre will be a developer-led project, and the company built a similarly designed care centre in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny. The HSE has not allocated any money for the project in its 2026 capital plan.

Cllr Will Paton wrote on his Facebook page that he was ‘delighted’ to learn about the planning approval. ‘This facility is long promised and badly needed in Tullow. I don’t have any information about construction or opening dates, but I will keep you posted as information about the health care centre emerges,’ he noted.