James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair and Deputy Lahart for allowing me to contribute. It is much appreciated. I also thank the committee for inviting me as a Deputy for the constituency despite not being a member. It is also much appreciated.

Last night, I attended a meeting at the Midleton Park Hotel convened to discuss the situation at the Owenacurra centre. I acknowledge the phenomenal work undertaken in the background by our community in east Cork in response to the closure of this facility. The Owenacurra centre has done phenomenal work with the service users in the area and with our community in recent decades. We heard that last night from members of the families whose loved ones had been using the service in the years since the facility opened and also from some of the people who themselves had used the services. I commend the wonderful work that the HSE staff have done on the ground in the community and what people in Midleton have done to offer support to those who have used the Owenacurra centre since it opened. Some of the information which came to light at that meeting last night was concerning in the context of the decision to close this facility. I was even more concerned to hear what the head of the Mental Health Commission had to say yesterday on the "Drivetime" programme about the HSE’s decision in this regard, because I had assumed that the commission would have been working in tandem with the HSE to a degree. I will seek a comment from Mr. Fitzgerald on that aspect later.

Many questions will be asked about this situation as we debate the topic. An important question to ask first, however, is whether there is any possibility, despite reports about the building being in bad condition, of residential services being maintained in the building. I refer to those services being maintained not just for people in the Midleton area but for those people who come from all over my constituency and beyond to avail of the service at the Owenacurra centre. The loss of the residential aspect of the services being provided is extremely concerning. I find it hard to comprehend how moving the residential patients around the county, which is what has been described to me as a public representative, is going to be in the best interests of their health and care. I open with that question. I apologise in advance to Mr. Fitzgerald because I will be interrupting him, depending on the time we have left.