This article is from page 12 of the 2012-02-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
TROUBLED teens from Clare were amongst those sent abroad last year for “treatment” at a cost of € 250,000 each, while a local specialist unit was closed for renovation.
That is according to Ennis Town Councillor Paul O’Shea (Lab) who raised concerns that Coovagh House was closed for renovations for more than six months.
The house on the grounds of St Joseph’s Hospital in Limerick was built in 2003 at a cost of € 10 million to house and assist teenagers from Clare, Limerick and Tipperary with behavioural problems.
Cllr O’Shea brought it to the attention of his council colleagues that as many as 13 young people were sent abroad for care at a cost of € 6. 5 million or a quarter of a million euro each.
This process has since ceased, leaving Cllr O’Shea to question where Clare teens with problem are now being referred.
“This is a national disgrace,” he said.
The Ennis councillor added that he also wants to know when the local unit, which closed in June last year, will reopen. “It closed at the time for renovations, which were to take six weeks,” he added.
He said that he was having difficulty getting any commitment on the future of Coovagh House from the HSE, and was now bringing the matter to the attention of Labour TD Michael McNamara.
In reply to questions from The Cla r e People, a spokesperson for the HSE said that Coovagh House was scheduled to reopen in March 2012, once the remaining development work was completed.
“The staff are reassigned locally or to other units within the National High Support and Special Care Service,” she said.
Asked where the young people who rely on this specialist unit now reside, the spokesperson replied, “Young people are accommodated in other units within the National High Support and Special Care Service.”
Meanwhile, Ennis Town Council has agreed to write to the HSE seeking clarification of the re-opening date, and when referrals can be made for Ennis children who require urgent special care.