Campaigners for the retention of services at the Owenacurra Centre in East Cork say they were met with "total resistance" for the vast majority of their effort.
Councilor Liam Quaid has welcomed the County Council's granting of planning permission for a new 10-bed residential unit in Midleton.
The existing long-stay mental health unit on the grounds of Midleton Community Hospital was first scheduled for closure in 2021, sparking strong local backlash.
Speaking to RedFM News, Cllr Quaid says the new 10 bed unit and two three-bed mental health community residences at Lauriston in Midleton are sorely needed:
"We were met with total resistance from the HSE management team. So I think Bernard Gloster taking over the CEO role was really critical to all of this, because it was when I met Bernard Gloster back in June of last year, that we really began to see some momentum and he personally intervened at that point. He visited the Owenacurra centre and he made a commitment to resolve this".
