Call for end of “political tussling” over Dean Maxwell in Roscrea

A CALL has been made to end the “political tussling over the future of the Dean Maxwell Home in Roscrea and to return the focus to the needs of the people of Roscrea.

Sinn Fein TD Deputy Martin Browne said this week that “there is growing anger among people I have spoken to in Roscrea that the future of long-term residential care at the Dean Maxwell is being hijacked for political purposes and that the public are now being side-lined.

“Last week it was announced that Minster Mary Butler and the HSE had invited a combination of Oireachtas and local Councillors to an online meeting scheduled for this Monday, at which clarity on the future of the unit would be provided.

“It has since emerged that only a select few were invited to this meeting - mostly along political lines – while many involved in the campaign to save the Dean Maxwell were not contacted, and the people of Roscrea in large part were kept in the dark.

“It has since been revealed that the meeting was cancelled at the last minute,” said Deputy Browne.

“There is now a real sense that the campaign to save the Dean Maxwell is currently being overshadowed in favour of political game playing; all-the-while the future of long-stay care remains profoundly uncertain.

“It is now time for the HSE and for those who believe they have the ear of the Minister to stop the secrecy, involve the public, and come clean by stating precisely what they know about the future of the Dean Maxwell.

“The people of Roscrea are feeling let down by this duplicitous attitude and deserve clarity.

“The political tussling must end, and the focus must return to the needs of the people of Roscrea, and to delivering for them,” he concluded.