State paid nearly €5m to Leas Cross home

CONTROVERSIAL nursing home Leas Cross was bankrolled to the tune of nearly €5 million by the Department of Health, figures obtained by the Irish Examiner reveal.

The monies paid to the home’s owners, over six-and-a-half years, went towards subsidising residents and contracting beds.

The State funding accrued by owner John Aherne varied considerably over the lifetime of the Swords’ facility, before its forced closure last year, after a damning RTÉ documentary revealed neglect and abuse there.