Galway City Councillors have voted to approve the sale of a 3.69 acre site in the Shantalla area to the Health Service Executive.
A portion of the site in question has been used as a helipad for medical air transfers, for over a decade. Temporary rolling access has been approved by the Council during that time.
The HSE has offered to purchase the site for €691,875, along with an additional €1.1m, which will be used to provide community facilities for residents.
It argues that the facility is essential to facilitate the emergency transfer of patients to University Hospital Galway.
Over 200 flights land at the helipad each year.
Locals have had long-standing concerns about what they term as a “land grab” by the HSE, saying that the area in question has been taken from them without discussion. They are critical about a lack of engagement and say they are fearful that, in time, the lands will be used for other purposes.
At this afternoon’s meeting of the local authority, similar concerns were expressed by a number of councillors. They argued that further assurances were needed about the future use of the lands, which are adjacent to the hospital.
Independent Councillor Mike Cubbard said residents had been treated with contempt by the HSE, who he said had not been willing to sit down and engage directly with locals over recent years.
Labour’s John McDonagh proposed that a decision be deferred, pending further clarity. However, his motion did not receive the backing of a majority of councillors.
Fianna Fáil’s Peter Keane suggested that a stipulation be made, as a condition of the sale, that the land could only be used as a heliport.
His amendment allows for the council to secure the return of the lands on a pro-rata basis, should this not happen. It also states that the council would not be liable to repay the additional contribution of €1.1m, were this scenario to arise.
This amendment was passed by 13 of the 18 councillors, clearing the way for the sale to proceed.
