Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 20 Jun 2001

Vol. 167 No. 5

Adjournment Matters. - Services for the Elderly.

Mrs. Taylor-Quinn

I thank the Cathaoirleach for affording me the opportunity of raising this matter on the Adjournment. Once again, I raise the important matter of the reopening of the Stella Maris Nursing Home in Lisdoonvarna which has been an ongoing saga for a considerable time. The scenario to date has been that on 5 March the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Moffatt, visited the establishment where he had a constructive and detailed meeting with the local voluntary committee which presented a very detailed proposal to him. Subsequent to this the committee continued to make representations and presented the proposal to the Mid-Western Health Board and in more recent times to officials within the Department.

The official proposal has been presented by the Mid-Western Health Board to the Minister and is on his desk for the past month. The bottom line is that there are 47 beds for the elderly in Stella Maris Nursing Home which were full up to the time it was indicated by the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Evron that they were going to close. They closed last October and indicated that they were no longer going to run the establishment and were putting it on the market. One of the conditions of sale was that it was to remain as a nursing home to provide care for the elderly in north Clare. The health board at the time refused to take on the responsibility of purchasing the property. It was indicated that if a local committee got together, it would get support from the health board and the Department.

All that was required both by the Department and the health board has now been complied with and it is a matter for the Minister to make the decision to provide the funding for two elements – the purchase and refurbishment of the property. During the course of the past couple of months the local committee has met all the various agencies involved – the fire authority, Clare County Council and the health board. It has also ascertained the regulations required in relation to the reopening. There is also a need for refurbishment. There are two elements to the proposal put before the Minister. I ask him to please go ahead and provide the funding immediately.

There is a problem locally. I hate to say it but the reality is that there is a certain amount of internal party politics and cross-party politics going on. That is unfortunate and I raise it this evening because it is time to quit the nonsense and get on with providing the beds that are so badly needed. The health board has acknowledged that there is validated research which justifies the need for them. There is a waiting list in County Clare for beds for the elderly. Most importantly, a number of patients were relocated far from their home territory to different areas across county Clare and even County Galway. They have been greatly distressed by this. Unfortunately many of them have since died. Some would say that the hassle and disturbance involved were contributory factors.

I have the fullest respect for the top class quality of the Minister of State, Deputy Hanafin, who I know is only present to read a statement from the Minister. It is unfortunate that the Minister for Health and Children who has responsibility for this matter has not come to the House this evening. The Minister of State, Deputy Moffatt, has dealt with it and in fairness to him went as far as he could with it. There is a responsibility on the Minister to produce the goods and quit playing politics with the elderly of north Clare.

Ms Hanafin

I thank the Senator for raising this issue for at least the second time. It was the subject of an Adjournment debate in February 2001 when it was stated that decisions relating to the provision of health services within County Clare were in the first instance a matter for the Mid-Western Health Board. As the Senator said, the Stella Maris Nursing Home is a privately owned facility operated by the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Evron. Late in 2000 it was decided to dispose of the property on the open market.

At the time of the earlier debate the health board informed my Department that prior to its closure residents found alternative accommodation and any person who experienced difficulty was assisted by the board. Furthermore the health board advised that some interest had been expressed by prospective purchasers in the Stella Maris Private Nursing Home. The board advised that it would be prepared to discuss options for the contracting of services without any prior commitment on it's part.

Since that time a local voluntary group, the Stella Maris Nursing Home committee, has been established. The committee has made a detailed proposal in relation to the possible future development of the home which would require the health board to consider purchasing the home and subsequently leasing it to a board of directors operating as a charitable trust on behalf of the local communities. This has happened since the Minister of State, Deputy Moffatt, visited the centre. He reported on his meeting to the Department and requested that the local committee forward its views and proposal to the Mid-Western Health Board. I understand the committee has done this. However, I understand from the Minister of State, Deputy Moffatt, that the board has not yet made a submission to the Department on this plan. It was also expected that such a submission would require to be within the board's existing service plan requirements.

I am aware that some officials from the Department met the committee on 19 June 2001 and a presentation of the proposals was provided. The agreement reached at that meeting was that the Department would contact the Mid-Western Health Board to canvass the views of the board on the proposal in the context of the board's regional requirements. That is where the matter stands. Following the visit and the Senator's representations progress is being made in ascertaining both the board's and local views.

It was also suggested at the meeting that the committee would continue to liaise with the Mid-Western Health Board and pointed out that the question of acquiring the home would have to be considered in the context of the board's local service requirements and priorities. The Minister would like me to point out that the Mid-Western Health Board has received significant increases in funding for services for older people in recent years. For example, the amount of additional funding has increased from £180,000 in 1997, to £225,000 in 1998, to £500,000 in 1999 and to £1.994 million in 2000. The figure for 2001 is £3.573 million, a substantial increase from the £180,000 in 1997. In the case of the nursing home subvention scheme, the amount made available rose from £1.169 million in 1994, the first full year of the scheme to almost £4 million in 2000. The figure for 2001 is approximately £4.5 million. These figures are just by way of indicating our commitment to the whole area of the elderly and particularly the Mid-Western Health Board. I will personally draw it to the Minister's attention that Senator Taylor-Quinn raised this important issue again tonight.

Mrs. Taylor-Quinn

May I quickly ask the Minister of State to ensure that the two bureau cratic institutions, the Mid-Western Health Board and the Department of Health and Children, quit their liaison and get on with their business? Funding must be given to those who need it.

An Cathaoirleach

The Senator is not in order.

The Seanad adjourned at 8.20 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 21 June 2001.