Care of the Elderly
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-18
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Eileen Lynch (FG), Agricultural Panel

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as a bheith anseo linn inniu. I seek an update of the status of the timeline of the delivery of a day care centre for the elderly in Macroom in the constituency of Cork North-West. I am sure the Minister of State will agree with and acknowledge the importance of day care centres. We see them all over the country. Macroom has a growing town centre with a big population and a massive hinterland from all over the constituency, from Aghabullogue to Coolea. We are incredibly lacking a day care centre right now, somewhere for our elderly residents to go to socialise, relieve rural isolation and keep in touch with friends and neighbours. This is something that has been mentioned for quite some time.
When I was on Cork County Council, I was a member of the HSE South forum. In both February 2022 and June 2023, I was told that a design team had been appointed for this, an agreement on the design proposal had been agreed and completed, the procurement had been finalised and it was waiting sign-off to tender.
To the best of my knowledge, it still awaits full funding but I await the Minister of State's update on that. Those are updates I got through the HSE south forum in February 2022 and June 2023. It does seem as though we have made no progress in those three years.
The Minister of State will be aware of the benefits day care centres can provide. This is a problem not only in Ireland but across Europe and the world when it comes to ageing population and the way we keep elderly people at home. I believe community healthcare and community care is the way to do that. It puts less pressure on nursing homes and, ultimately, on the service user. It is vital we make these services available. Not only does it provide an opportunity for older people to keep up their social skills and avoid rural isolation, but it also provides a break for family carers who are looking after elderly people. For elderly people living on their own, it keeps them living independently for longer. It can also be linked in with therapeutic healthcare and access to healthcare through day care centres. The centres also work in tandem with services, such as meals on wheels which provides a fantastic service all over the country, particularly in rural areas. In both Macroom and Millstreet, two of the bigger towns in my area, meals on wheels provides fantastic services, and that is to be commended. Macroom is also very lucky to have a very active senior citizens group, two nursing homes and a community hospital. I commend the refurbishment work that has been done in Macroom Community Hospital, which is truly a fantastic facility. We were promised a day care centre as part of that facility. That has yet to be delivered. Progress seems to be very much static or stagnant. Looking at the population of Macroom and its hinterland, and the issues with an ageing population, these are the kinds of solutions we need to put in place and prioritise.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:39+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-18