14 HSE owned buildings in Westmeath lying vacant

There are 14 HSE owned buildings in Westmeath currently lying vacant, new figures have revealed.

Nine of the 14 vacant HSE properties in Westmeath are listed as 'vacant under review'. These include five buildings on the campus of the former mother and baby home in Castlepollard (St Peter's Centre, Main Hospital, Chalet, Manor House and Craft Workshop) and one of the gate lodges at St Loman's Hospital, as well as the gate lodge and old convent at St Mary's Hospital on the Longford Road in Mullingar.

There are also five Westmeath vacant HSE owned properties among 41 buildings that are classified as 'retained assets'. These include: 7 and 8 Canal Avenue in Mullingar, the site ear marked for a primary care centre in Rochfortbridge, and Clonbrusk Primary Care Centre in Athlone. A second gate lodge at St Loman's is also listed as a retained asset.

Nationally, there are 278 HSE owned buildings currently lying vacant. The figures were released by the HSE to Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane.

His party colleague Deputy Sorca Clarke says that the high number of vacant properties across the country shows that the HSE has mismanaged its assets for decades. If a building is no longer of use to the HSE, an alternative use that would either benefit the state or community should be identified as soon as possible, she says.

Deputy Clarke also disputed the HSE's figures saying that she knows of at least one building on the St Loman's campus that is not included on the list.