The HSE has been accused of allowing the Owenacurra centre to fall into disrepair and of not respecting the wishes of residents who do not want to be moved to another facility.
East Cork TD Pat Buckley told staff from Cork Kerry Community Healthcare that the group had failed to properly maintain the mental health facility in Midleton and were now moving residents from one non-compliant centre to another.
The issue was discussed at the Oireachtas Public Petitions Committee today, which heard that the long stay centre cannot be refurbished due to the cost of the project.
Estate manager at HSE Estates, Alan O'Connell outlines why refurbishing Owenacurra isn't possible:
"Doing the repairs under ceilings would mean that the ceilings will be replaced practically in their entirety. Because of that, there is a requirement then for the building itself to comply with the current building regulations. The building has been there since the 1970s, in order to bring that particular building up to current regulations, which include the government's Climate Action Plan and in terms of the energy performance of the building, it becomes an extremely expensive exercise to bring that particular building up to the level in which it would meet the current building regulations."
Deputy Pat Buckley says he can't understand the reasoning behind moving residents into other facilities that need significant refurbishments.
