Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I express my sincere thanks to the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people, Deputy Jim Daly, for coming to the House to address this very serious matter relating to the Rosalie unit at Castlerea, County Roscommon. I commend the Minister of State on acting speedily to meet a deputation from County Roscommon this evening. I appreciate that. I also acknowledge a representation made to the Minister of State by his party colleague, Senator Maura Hopkins.

I call on the Minister of State to provide clarity and answers on the future of the Rosalie unit at Castlerea, County Roscommon. I thank him most sincerely for agreeing to meet a deputation this evening. Like many others, I am deeply concerned that the Health Service Executive, HSE, has reneged on a 2015 promise to keep the Rosalie unit in Castlerea open. Many people fear that closure by stealth is now taking place. This is a pretty new unit. It may be there 20 or 30 years but I am not sure. It is a fine unit, originally designed to cater for 33 people. Now, it is catering for 12 or 13. Many of the residents of the Rosalie unit suffer from Alzheimer's disease or dementia. An embargo on admissions to the unit was put in place in September 2016, despite assurances given the previous year. A former Minister of State at the Department, Ms Kathleen Lynch, told a deputation she met at the time that there were absolutely "no plans to close it and there will be no such plans". The HSE has stated that the intention is to provide care for the residents in the unit as long as this is in the interests of the individual residents. As the Minister of State knows, such language is very vague. Who decides what is in the interests of individual residents? I often wonder about such language. The Minister of State is very passionate about his brief and I know he is very sincere but when somebody in the HSE makes a statement about deciding what is in a person's interest, I do not accept it at all.

Many family members also fear their loved ones could be moved to Ballinasloe, which is a long way from Castlerea. Ballinasloe is in east Galway and Castlerea is in County Roscommon. Such a development would be horrendous for many of the patients currently in the unit and their families. It is sad because this affects some of the people in the unit now. It is of great concern that the Rosalie unit has been closed to new admissions since September 2016. Will the Minister of State clarify the position ? I want answers to my questions. Will the unit remain open and will the Minister of State provide a date as to when new residents will be accepted? There are 12 or 13 people in the unit, which has capacity for 33. Over the years, the number of people there has steadily reduced. This is a big issue, not alone in the environs of Castlerea but throughout County Roscommon. We saw large public meetings two years ago but we were satisfied at the time we had got assurances and everything was going to be okay. Now we are very concerned.

I am not saying that the unit will close but the Minister of State knows that when we see this happening, one would wonder how much longer it can remain open. I know a number of people who could not get into any unit over Christmas but who could have used this one for a couple of weeks.

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