Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to the witnesses. I do not know the Owenacurra centre or east Cork but I do know that people have rights. Deputy Buckley has filled me in on what went on in the past. There seems to have been a failure on the part of the HSE and successive Governments to properly resource the centre and this is coming home to roost now. It reminds me of a saying that my own nanny used, namely that a stitch in time saves nine. There has not been any stitching in the Owenacurra centre for a very long time. Red flags were raised on numerous occasions. It was reported in 2016 that electrical repairs were needed. Other reports were prepared that referred to structural concerns and the size of individual rooms. There has been an absolute failure on the part of the HSE with regard to the centre and there needs to be accountability for that. I am calling for an independent inquiry to determine how we got to this point.

The residents are being punished because of the failures of the HSE but they are the one group of people that has no say in this whatsoever. We are moving residents from their own single rooms into six-bed dormitory style rooms in places like Glanmire. In the context of human rights, do all 15 residents at the centre have family support? Have all residents seen the alternative accommodation that is being proposed? I have worked in this area and I believe that moving people from a residential setting that is their home into high-support hostel accommodation is a regressive step. I ask the witnesses to answer those two questions.