East Cork could be left without a community based mental health facility if the current unit at Owenacurra closes without replacement.
The mental health centre on the grounds of Midleton Community Hospital was due to close at the end of October after the HSE said the building was no longer fit for the 19 residents.
Locals in Midleton who have been campaigning for the retention of the Owenacurra mental health facility since last Autumn and say they are very disappointed with an offer of accommodation
in Carrigaline for some residents.
A delegation from the Health Committee is due to visit the facility next month.
Local Sinn Fein TD Pat Buckley told RedFM News that locals feel their voices have not been heard in relation to the retention of the facility:
"So we're hoping to bring a delegation down from the Health Committee on the 7th of March. And the biggest crux here is why we want the delegation to come down: we want to see it. The members of the health committee will be able to go in, look at the Owenacurra Centre, look at the space within the centre - inside in the middle of it, there's a big communal garden. There's a huge site out the front. There's a very large car park. We need people to see, you know, the bricks and mortar of this place, but also see the human impact and what would happen."
