Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 14 December 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Closure of Owenacurra Centre: Engagement with HSE

Photo of Seán CroweSeán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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There are people there who would consider it their home. I was struck by the reference to moving to "high-support hostels". We are talking to families about moving a loved one from their home to, in some cases, a high-support hostel. The word "hostel" is jarring for anyone listening at home and for me.

It signals a change that would be clearly unacceptable to many of those families. I know it is just a term but it probably sums up the concerns of the families who have contacted us. They worried about family members who are moving from what is clearly their home, where they are comfortable and very much part of the community, to the unknown. The unknown in some cases could be hostel accommodation. We need to think about where those individuals are going because there are going to be difficulties. There is no date for the closure but what happens if a family takes a stand and says that it does not want their family member to move? What if there is a refusal to move? Where will the HSE be left in that situation?