The empty homes: How a €250m promise is failing older people who need care now

Despite seven newly built nursing homes costing €250m, none are fully operational, forcing older people into placements far from home

St Finbarr’s Hospital in Cork. Picture: Chani Anderson

Older people desperately in need of nursing home beds are being sent far from home and family while a €250m project for seven new nursing homes has stalled, leaving observers baffled.

The new buildings appear ready, some with beds in place, but despite being promised for completion by November 2024, not a single resident has moved in yet.