TD threatens legal action over Owenacurra after being told EU Ombudsman has no authority

Owenacurra's care home residents have been moved from the centre where they had been for decades to separate places with much worse facilities

Owenacurra has been engulfed in controversy because of the relocation of the mentally disabled residents and families to other settings. File picture: Howard Crowdy

A Sinn Féin TD is threatening legal action against the HSE over its handling of the Owenacurra care home controversy.

Cork East TD Pat Buckley has said that "going to court" is his becoming his only remaining avenue after the EU’s Ombudsman has said it has no remit to sanction the HSE over its handling of the removal of residents from its Owenacurra care centre against their wishes.

Campaigners and Opposition TDs had sought the Ombudsman’s office, headed by Irish woman Emily O’Reilly, to intervene but their requests have been rebuffed.

In a letter to Cork East Sinn Féin TD Pat Buckley, Ms O’Reilly’s office said while it can investigate complaints against European Union institutions and agencies, this does not extend to the HSE.

“The Ombudsman cannot look into complaints about public-funded healthcare systems as the Irish HSE,” the letter from Tim Nilsson, Head of the Ombudsman’s case-handling unit states.

Owenacurra has been engulfed in controversy because of the relocation of the mentally disabled residents and families to other settings. The HSE's initial plan for the Owenacurra mental health facility residents was to move them to dormitory settings in several remote locations.

Instead, the residents have been moved from the centre where they had been for decades to separate places with much worse facilities.

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Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr Buckley said he is thinking about making plans to “go to court” because he is extremely disappointed after reaching out to so many different people in the hopes that someone would help the residents. He said he reached out to the Ombudsman because he trusted them.

However, he said that after receiving absolutely no help or support, he is beginning to lose the trust and faith he once had in our public healthcare system.

“This is no longer just a healthcare issue, it's now also a human rights issue. I'm still in awe as to how the HSE can send residents of Owenacurra from their home to alternative places which are less compliant than the centre that they live in,” he said. 

It's like moving someone from a five-star hotel to a tent.

The HSE repeatedly claimed that it has handled the closure of Owenacurra in a 'sensitive manner' with the needs of those living there at the forefront.

Mr Buckley is yet to receive any support and told the Irish Examiner he is feeling "helpless".