Public demonstrations in Roscrea threatened over Dean Maxwell

Large scale public protests to draw attention to the fast approaching deadline facing Roscrea's Dean Maxwell Nursing Home have been threatened by a group of local activists campaigning to save the facility.

Roscrea has seen large protests over the issue before, when several thousand people took to the streets of the historic Market Town to highlight the future of the town's only public nursing home. Support for a potential protest was very strong on social media on Monday, when the Midland Tribune asked if people would march on the streets of Roscrea to support the Dean Maxwell Home.

Known to be the most emotive issue on the minds of the townspeople, the Dean Maxwell Community Nursing Home faces an uncertain future as the January 1 deadline for the cessation of long-term care closes in. Earlier this month the Roscrea Community Development Council (RCDC) contacted the five Dáil deputies representing the area, imploring them to establish some facts about the facility's uncertain future and seek an extension of the January deadline.

Due to the lack of response from several of the Roscrea area's elected Dáil representatives, RCDC have warned that they feel they have exhausted all avenues and no other route bar public protest remains open to them.

Only Independent Tipperary poll-topper, Michael Lowry TD responded to RCDC's appeal for assistance and confirmed that he had a meeting with the Minister of State for Older People, Mary Butler recently.

During that meeting he highlighted RCDC’s concerns and requests for her - especially stressing that the deadline of January 1, 2022 be lifted or extended and that this order be put into writing.

To date RCDC, the Minister, to RCDC’s knowledge, has issued no such clarity. This could result in street protests, RCDC Chairman, John Lupton told the Midland Tribune.

“Unless there is an immediate positive response from Government, RCDC is of the view that there will have to be a large a scale public demonstration to defend the principle that older Roscrea people in need of long term stay residential care, now or in the future, must be able to avail of same in a community nursing home setting in their own community of belonging,” Mr. Lupton said.

They said that because of receiving only “silence” from Government, “dark clouds are gathering on the horizon of 2022”.

On November 29, the RCDC wrote to the five Tipperary TDs requesting that the deadline of January 1, 2022, after which the long term stay residents would not be accepted in the Dean Maxwell Home, be lifted, and secondly that it be clarified that there is funding included in the review of the National Development Plan for refurbishment, and or a rebuilding of the Dean Maxwell facility to cater for long term stay residents going into the future.