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

I thank my colleague, Deputy Buckley, as well as the Chair, for keeping me up to speed on this emotive issue in my absence over the past couple of weeks. I have been reading and catching up on the opening statements. I have been reading the reports. I have even listened back to some of the recent podcasts and interviews with the residents in Midleton, as well as with residents of the Owenacurra centre and their family members. I do not think that I seen a community rally around mental health services in the way I have seen it done in Midleton. It is clear that people in the Owenacurra centre are part of the community of Midleton. They are not apart from the community of Midleton; they are actually a part of it. We often talk about integrated living and integrating different parts of the community. This is one of the best examples that I have seen. I heard one man talking on the radio about how he goes the local coffee shop to meet his friend. I have no idea if his friend is another resident in the Owenacurra centre, or if his friend is a resident in Midleton; it is none of my business. However, he goes into Midleton to meet his friend for a cup of coffee on a regular basis. That is his routine. Residents of the Owenacurra centre have their families, their neighbours and their routines, just like anybody else in society. We need to put the flesh on the bones of this. They are not statistics; they are real people and this closure will impact on them.

The closure of this facility will have a detrimental impact on the residents of the Owenacurra centre, its staff and the wider community in Midleton.

I will make a couple of charges that are not directed towards Mr. Fitzgerald but to the HSE in general. From reading the report, to me the HSE has been complicit in, and is responsible for, allowing the Owenacurra Centre to get into a rundown state and creating the situation in which we now find ourselves. Mr. Fitzgerald, in his opening statement, said the immediate priority of the HSE was "the welfare of the 19 residents of the centre". Where was this priority in the years that the lack of investment by the HSE allowed the building to get to the state it is in now? This is the situation we are in now. I will put this issue in context. These residents are real people. If they were living in a house and their landlord neglected to maintain their home, they would have recourse through a number of agencies, including the Residential Tenancies Board. In this case, the HSE is the neglectful landlord. Where is the residents' recourse? How do they go about getting recourse?

To address the other side of the issue, from all the evidence I have heard, the service provided in Owenacurra is very good. If it were not, people would not be fighting to stay in the centre and continue to use its services.

I will ask questions on the building and then ask about assessments. Mr. Fitzgerald has answered my question on the building already, but I will ask it again. Has the HSE explored every option available to allow the residents to remain in their current home? Mr. Fitzgerald mentioned the future use of the site. Was any consideration given to building a new centre on the current site and upgrading the current building to allow the residents to remain in situ and keep them in a safe space in the meantime? Was any consideration given to using the current site to build a new building, rather than moving the residents out?