Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Colm Burke for allowing me to speak first. This matter concerns Cara House, Market Street, Skibbereen, which is run by the Skibbereen Geriatric Society. Currently, there are 12 residents in the home and there is major concern that the home has been deemed to close on Friday of next week. There is concern and worry about where people will go. Most of these people are in their 80s; some are in their 90s. As far as they are concerned, Cara House has become their home. These people are old and vulnerable and their home is their castle. They are frightened and concerned about where they will be moved to. There are different rumours, including that HIQA has put the gun to the head of the Skibbereen Geriatric Society and demanded the closure of the home. There is another story that some of them will be transferred to Cork city, which is 60 miles from where some residents come from. I would like the fears and concerns to be addressed. Everyone in Cara House, which I know for many years, is a citizen of the State and it is unnecessary and unfair that they are stressed and that their families are worried and concerned about where they might be shifted to.

They are stressed and their families are worried and concerned about where they might be moved. This is unfair and unreasonable. I hope the Minister of State will clarify that an extension can be given through HIQA, the HSE or the geriatric society that runs the home to find suitable alternative accommodation. I have inquired through the HSE and no beds are available in the local community hospital in Skibbereen or in Dunmanway or Schull, while the privately run nursing homes in the area are full. The HSE is not stating this publicly, but its officials will admit that if they have to accommodate the people concerned, they will face logistical difficulties.

I hope the Minister of State will allay fears locally. I have said to those who have contacted me that the elderly people concerned should not worry because they will not put on the streets, but they are fearful about where they will be transferred. It is rumoured that they may be moved to St. Finbarr's Hospital in Cork, which would be a major inconvenience for them and their families. I hope the Minister of State will understand the motivation behind this debate and I do not raise such issues lightly. There is concern and worry, particularly among the elderly patients, some of whom are in their 80s and 90s. They are mentally active enough to understand what is happening and deeply concerned that they will be moved again. They experienced significant trauma and change when they moved from their own homes to this nursing home. None of them can return to his or her home. Cara House has provided an excellent service in the Skibbereen area. The staff are doing wonderful work and the patients are happy there. I wonder, therefore, why this is happening, who is driving the change and what is the current position. It is most important that when I relay the Minister of State's reply she reassure those affected directly that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that there is a way out of this and that the transfers will be made in a dignified and orderly fashion and with respect for the elderly people involved.