2026-04-15

As the Minister of State and I both know, a 19-bed unit in Heather House was first announced in 2022. Four years later this special dementia unit has not been opened and all we are getting is excuse after excuse and no date for when it will be open. The latest update from the HSE is that following HIQA's inspection, it is now looking to make amendments to the building. There is still no opening time. I was told in response to a parliamentary question last October that this was ready to go. I was told it again in November and in December. Then I was told that all the Government was waiting for was a licence from HIQA to open it. I want to outline to the Minister of State just how serious the situation is with the special dementia unit not being opened. I have a lady who is living in the nursing home in Cloyne. Cloyne nursing home is doing a great job but this lady and her family are all from the northside of Cork city. The lady has dementia, and what the staff tell the family is that on the days when they go out to visit her they can see an improvement in her. The problem is that she has two elderly sisters who do not drive. She has family, but they have their own families and jobs. Cloyne is a fair spin from the northside of Cork city. We are talking about 45 minutes, depending on traffic, and it could be even longer. If Heather House was open they would be in to her every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Family members and other family friends who live in the community could also call in. People should get nursing home care in their communities. That goes to the heart of looking after older and more vulnerable people. We do not have answers. I have another gentleman who is in Ballincollig. His sister and his two granddaughters try to get in to see him. The girls are working. His sister is looking after the family. Heather House is from here over to Dawson Street away from where those families live. There is also another family. We were successful in saving Mount Cara. I was also involved with successful campaigns to make sure that Sarsfield Court dementia unit and nursing home was not closed down. It is really important that we get Heather House dementia unit open. The thing about it is that it is a brand new purpose-built building that cost millions. It is ready. It is unbelievable - we are looking at a building that is ready. It is fully equipped. What I cannot understand is how after four years HIQA is now coming back looking for more to be done. HIQA was asked in January and it came back to the HSE four months later. Is there a reason that Heather House is not being opened? We have people with dementia in inappropriate settings. This is the unit that was designed and built for them. That is where they should be. I am not sure if the Minister of State understands the situation. We need compassion from the Government, the HSE and HIQA. We need to get this nursing home open. There is a huge crisis with nursing home spaces on the northside of Cork city. People from the northside are going all over Cork county to get nursing home spaces.

Gabhaim buíochas.

That is not right.

I thank Deputy Gould for raising this important matter. Heather House Community Nursing Unit, CNU, provides important and valued services for the people of the northside of Cork city and surrounding areas. There is a typo in the reply. I understand the significant role the CNU plays in the community and the importance of the facility. Heather House Community Nursing Unit was opened in 2011, and a 60-bed extension was added in 2023. The CNU is currently registered with HIQA to accommodate a maximum of 60 residents in two units, namely, Poppy and Lily, which are located in the new extension. The two units in the original building, Daisy and Primrose, are currently closed. The HSE informed me today that the new 17-bed dementia-specific unit is at the final stage for application to register with HIQA. Deputy Gould name-checked 19. HIQA has come back and said that there are two twin rooms and they want them to be single, so it is going from 19 to 17. The HSE advised that the final works, as agreed with HIQA, are in progress and will be completed in the coming weeks. I want to see this unit opened as quickly as possible as well. I am getting directly involved, as Minister of State, to ensure we get it open as quickly as possible. I assure the Deputy that I am committed to working alongside HSE South West to get Primrose, the new dementia-specific unit, opened in Heather House as soon as HIQA registration is obtained. I wish to inform the Deputy that the 25-bed Daisy unit located in the original building is currently undergoing essential fire upgrade works and the HSE advised me that it is scheduled to reopen at the end of 2026. I am going to look at that as well to see if we can expedite the opening of the 25-bed unit. HSE South West has been working to increase the quantity of public nursing home beds in the region to offer further long-term residential care capacity and choice for older people living in Cork city and county. The HSE continues to focus on providing a residential care service focused on quality and safety while also meeting the needs of individual residents. HSE South West continuously reviews the community’s needs in line with population health planning and Sláintecare principles. To this end, it is committed to ensuring that optimal services will continue to be provided and developed for older people in Cork. Older persons' services in Cork will soon be enhanced by the opening of two new community nursing units. St. Finbarr’s in Cork city will have a total of 105 beds and Midleton CNU will have a total of 50 beds. With specific regard to dementia, I advise the Deputy that 30 dementia-specific beds will form part of the bed complement at St. Finbarr’s CNU. I assure the Deputy that I am committed to working alongside the HSE to address all concerns in respect of the residential care of older people in Cork city and county over the coming years. I will give him a commitment that I have already made direct contact with the HSE and with my officials and that this is something I am going to personally follow up on myself. I am going to see what the reasons for the delays are and how we can expedite the opening of the new dementia unit. I also want to look at including the 25-bed unit in the Daisy wing. The key element here is that, if they are all opened, there would be 102 beds within Heather House. That is hugely significant in terms of increased capacity. That is the up-to-date position. I will listen to the Deputy's follow-up and then come back with a closing statement.

I appreciate that the Minister of State has said he is going to look into this personally but I am really disappointed because four years on it is still not open. The 25 beds in the nursing home are also really important but people with dementia are really vulnerable. They are scattered around nursing homes all over County Cork when there is a purpose-built nursing home at Heather House. I was hoping that the Minister of State would be able to give me a date today. Regardless of whether it is June, July or August, I would like to have a date for those families. There is one gentleman who is in a special unit at Cork University Hospital because there is nowhere for him to go. His family are afraid that he is going to die in hospital. He comes from the area. He comes from Church Street. This unit is at the top of Gurranabraher, right next to Church Street. The family are saying they want to bring him home or as close to home as they can. For too long, the HSE and HIQA have not been giving answers or a date. I want a date so I can go back to the people of the northside. I could fill that dementia unit. Does the Minister of State see this notebook I am holding? It contains the details of people who could enter this dementia unit. I could fill the whole unit with people who are looking to get into it. I appreciate what the Minister of State is saying but we need a definite timeline for the opening of the unit. People on the northside are sick and tired of being the last to get anything and the first to lose services. Why is it that the northside must always fight? Why must I come in here every week to stand up for the northside? Heather House has been built and the funding is supposed to be there. The Minister mentioned units at St. Finbarr's and in Midleton. I do not think they will be open before the end of the year. The Minister of State has said they will be opening and that those beds will be available but I have fierce doubts about that.

Community nursing units such as Heather House form an integral part of local communities and provide invaluable service to the people who live in those communities as they age. I have already outlined that there are currently 60 beds open in Heather House CNU. I will once again reiterate that the new 17-bed dementia unit is at the final stage of applying for registration with HIQA. The HSE advises that the final works agreed with HIQA are in progress and will be completed in the coming weeks. I have to work within a process. The process is that the HSE applies to HIQA and HIQA has to give approval. The unit cannot be opened until HIQA gives its approval. I cannot give the Deputy a final date today because I have to work through that process. However, I will give another commitment. I want to see the unit open as quickly as possible and I am going to get directly involved with Department officials and the HSE to see how it can be expedited. This redesigned Primrose unit will offer a choice in long-term residential care for people with dementia. I agree with the Deputy that dementia units are hugely important. As I have already outlined, the Daisy unit located in the original building is currently undergoing essential fire upgrade works and is scheduled to reopen at the end of the year. I want to see if that can be expedited. When complete, this will bring the total capacity of the Heather House CNU to 102 beds. I am committed to maximising the number of beds for older people. As already mentioned, older persons' services in Cork will soon be enhanced by the opening of two new CNUs, St. Finbarr's in Cork city, which will have 105 beds, and Midleton CNU, which will have a total of 50 beds. I want to see those opened as quickly as possible. I am working with the HSE and the Department to make that happen. I think the Deputy will find they will be opened relatively soon. The HSE continually reviews its services in line with population health planning and Sláintecare principles to ensure adequate and appropriate residential care is available for our older population. I will be following up on Heather House. I ask the Deputy to keep in contact with my office for updates. I will come back to him with a direct update. Any updates I get, I will provide to the Deputy.