€220,000 spent on abuse investigation

Over €220,000 has been spent by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to date on investigations into one of its care facilities in Mayo at the centre of allegations of abuse towards vulnerable residents.

Figures provided to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee shows payments totalling €220,297 have been incurred over HSE-commissioned inquiries into conditions at the Áras Attracta in Swinford, Co Mayo. The figures exclude travel, subsistence and other expenses paid to members of inquiry teams.

The care home for people with intellectual disability was at the centre of major controversy last year after a documentary by the RTÉ Investigations Unit recorded residents being slapped, kicked, shouted at, and force- fed. A total of 17 staff at the HSE-run facility in Swinford are under investigation, with all but four suspended without pay.