Families 'terrified' residents' health will deteriorate with Owenacurra closure

The niece of one resident will tell the Oireachtas Petitions Committee her aunt "has had to endure terror and fear that she was going to be made homeless".

The closure decision has been protested vehemently from within the locality, with residents and their relatives alike mobilising to try and keep the centre in its current situation in Midleton. File picture: David Keane

The niece of a resident of the Owenacurra mental health facility is set to tell an Oireachtas committee how her family is “terrified” of the impact the centre’s closure will have on their loved one.

Orla Kelleher, whose aunt Anna has lived at Owenacurra for more than 25 years, will tell the Oireachtas Petitions Committee of the “anxiety and worry” her family has suffered as a result of the HSE’s decision to shut the facility due to alleged insurmountable issues with the building’s structure.