Health minister and HSE chief urged to repay over €300,000 to Offaly Hospice

THE health minister and HSE chief must intervene to restore over €300,000 which was raised from the public for Offaly Hospice.

The call for the intervention of Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Bernard Gloster was made at a meeting of Offaly County Council on Monday where it was stated that minutes from a meeting back in 2023 prove the HSE committed itself to repaying €312,000 to Offaly Hospice.

Cllr Fergus McDonnell, who stated earlier this year that Offaly Hospice was seeking the funding, told council colleagues that the money had been spent on the “architects, site and designs” for the original hospice site on the grounds of Tullamore Hospital.

The project did not go ahead and planning permission was subsequently granted for a Midlands Hospice on a greenfield site at Arden Lane in Tullamore.

Cllr McDonnell, an Edenderry-based Independent Ireland representative, said it was with “regret” he had to say that while a meeting between Offaly Hospice and the HSE took place, unfortunately “there seems to be no movement”.

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“The members of Offaly Hospice were clearly told the HSE were under no obligation to repay any of the monies,” said the councillor.

“That is regrettable,” he remarked.

He said it was extremely disappointing because had had seen the minutes of a meeting which took place on April 17, 2023 “between senior members of HSE management and Offaly Hospice and it's clear and unambiguous in that minute, of an agreement and a commitment to repay that sum of money”.

The councillor added: “I think words like integrity, sincerity, accountability, these are traits that every one of us expect to have front and centre when we're having dealings with anybody, but particularly when it's an arm of the State.”

He referred to a “big media profile” last month where South Westmeath Hospice secured “the return of €1.9m that was similarly agreed”.

Cllr McDonnell (pictured below with Minister MacNeill last year at the Arden Lane site) asked for the council's to support a written request to Minister MacNeill and Mr Gloster for their “direct intervention so that Offaly Hospice can secure the rightful return of that sum of money”.

He said the money would be used to support families where a member was continuing to remain at home in very difficult times.

Cllr Peter Ormond, Fianna Fail, concurred, saying Offaly Hospice had set out to fundraise a number of years ago “in good faith” and then engaged with architects and people in the legal profession to to everything they could to deliver a hospice.

“I think it's only proper and right that this money would be returned to Offaly Hospice,” said the representative from Shinrone.

“It's left a sour taste out there regarding what's happening and I think it's only right that this matter be dealt with in a timely fashion. And I mean very very quickly.”

He said a lot of work has still to take place to deliver the Midlands Hospice which he understood was still with An Coimisiun Pleanala after planning permission had been granted.

Seconding Cllr McDonnell's proposal, he said.: “The money that was spent certainly needs to be refunded and I'm disappointed to hear that it has taken this long to bring that position about.”

Cllr Sean Maher, Sinn Fein, Birr, agreed, describing the HSE actions as “absolutely outrageous” and “totally unacceptable.”

Cllr Maher said the letter from the council should request that the “full amount of money” is restored.

The Independent representative from Tullamore, Cllr Sean O'Brien, said he was disappointed to see that negotiations with the HSE had “not gone as planned”.

Cllr O'Brien said Offaly Hospice had put €500,000 into a building fund and “that started the whole process to get the hospice for the Midlands”.

Along with that, Offaly Hospice was raising money from “people on the ground” to “deliver services on the ground”, with nurses working on end of life care at night and weekends when “the HSE didn't have much interest in it”.

“I'm pleading with the HSE at this stage to do the decent thing and refund that money to a group who are going to use that money to deliver services that the HSE are not delivering on the ground.”

Cllr Eddie Fitzpatrick, Independent, likewise urged the HSE to repay the money.

“It's not actually their own money,” said the Cloneyhurke man, adding that he would raise the matter at a meeting of the HSE regional forum the following day (Tuesday, March 24).

“It's public money that was raised and it should be returned back to Offaly Hospice.”

Cllr Aoife Masterson, Sinn Fein, Tullamore, said everyone had entered into the arrangement in “good faith” and what had happened was very disappointing.

“We were in the very lucky position that there were so many people interested in delivering [a hospice] from Offaly,” said Cllr Masterson, adding that she hoped the HSE will reconsider their position so the money can be put to good use in the community delivering vital services.

Offaly County Council Cathaoirleach John Leahy said the HSE had made a commitment to refund Offaly Hospice.

“It's clearly written on the minutes of a meeting and they should honour that. How it got away from that point I don't know,” said Cllr Leahy.

In a statement released by Offaly Hospice in December 1, the charity said a site on the grounds of the Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore was agreed between the HSE and Offaly Hospice in October 2020.

It was hoped that planning permission would be sought and by September 2022 Government funding of €20 million was allocated.

In 2023 an alternative site materialised on Arden Lane, offered by Tullamore Lions Club who had run the Hooves4Hospice fundraising campaign.

Offaly Hospice said the HSE did not inform it about the alternative site for almost six months and the plan for the facility at the Tullamore Hospital site was discarded.

Offaly Hospice chair Professor Humphrey O'Connor said earlier this year the HSE has offered to repay an amount of money but that it was “nowhere near” what the charity had paid out.