Public meeting sought on Owenacurra Centre closure

THE joint committee on health has written to the Mental Health Commission (MHC) requesting a public meeting on its oversight of the Owenacurra Centre closure.

It comes following an invitation from the joint committee on health to the MHC for a public meeting on the Owenacurra Centre closure in December 2021 and an invitation from the Oireachtas petitions committee to hold a public meeting in September 2022.

Both invitations were declined on the basis of alleged legal restrictions, due to potential enforcement proceedings arising from the closure, that the MHC may take against the HSE.

“This legal-restriction rationale was also cited at a meeting of the disability matters committee meeting in December 2022, when committee members attempted to question the MHC about its oversight of the Owenacurra Centre closure,” read the letter to the MHC from the cathaoirleach of the committee on health, Sean Crowe.

The committee said, however, that these legal restrictions on discussion of the closure appear not to have applied to an extended interview about the subject on RTÉ’s Drivetime programme in September 2021.

The letter, dated February 3, which has been seen by The Echo, read: “We are concerned that the MHC did not clearly explain to the disability matters committee meeting the reasons it has been able to issue briefings to, and take questions from, media outlets on the Owenacurra Centre closure, but is not in a position to take questions about the issue under privilege from committees of the houses of the Oireachtas.”

The committee said that as the closure of the centre has progressed, there have also been “increasing concerns about alternative placements” for residents that the MHC “appears to neither have taken action on, nor commented on, publicly”.

“The MHC’s role is not merely legalistic, it is also one of authority on the provision of services and the rights of service-users, and where your legal powers may need strengthening, there is, nevertheless, weight in your words.

“We are also aware that in the context of a closure of an approved centre, there is a clear legal requirement of the HSE under the Mental Health Act to provide placements for each resident that meets their needs.

“Likewise, the MHC is obliged to enforce such a service-plan for each resident through its oversight of the closure,” the letter read.

Green Party councillor Liam Quaide, who has long advocated for the reversal of the closure, said: “It’s welcome the MHC have been invited by the health committee to discuss their oversight of the Owenacurra closure.

“They have clear obligations to protect the rights of residents and people with similar needs in East Cork who require respite or longer-term community placement.”