‘The battle has been won’

New 50-bed nursing home for Roscrea

There has been widespread welcome of last week’s news that a new 50-bed community nursing unit for Roscrea is included in the HSE Capital Plan for 2026.

The new unit, with an estimated cost of €23 million, is to replace the existing Dean Maxwell nursing home.

The inclusion was welcomed last week by Deputy Ryan O’Meara, who said the Roscrea project has been allocated €10,000 and is at the appraisal stage, which means it is receiving seed funding to advance the design stage. Deputy O’Meara also mentioned the inclusion of a new inpatient ward block of 48 beds at Nenagh hospital, a project that is at the early stages of design feasibility and has been allocated €1.2 million in the current plan.

“Today’s announcement will see the vital progression of key projects across North Tipperary that will ensure we have robust health infrastructure to meet the demand of our growing population,” Deputy O’Meara stated.

‘HOME AWAY FROM HOME’

Local councillor Shane Lee described the Dean Maxwell home as “more than just a care facility to the people of Roscrea and the surrounding area. It has been a home away from home for local people”.

Cllr Lee recalled local “outcry” over the threatened closure of the home.

“Local people rose up and defied the threat – the battle was on to save Dean Maxwell! And that battle has been won!” Cllr Lee declared.

He said the new 50-bed home would provide both long and short-term elderly care, respite and palliative care. “The new Dean Maxwell will be built on a greenfield site, ensuring it is ultra-modern and meets the varied needs of those requiring care.

“News on the location of this site is imminent, as negotiations are nearing completion,” Cllr Lee stated.

“I have been engaged with this issue since it began and, while many people may have believed that saving the Dean Maxwell home was a lost cause, I have remained staunchly positive that this day and this announcement would come.”

He acknowledged the commitment of Deputy Michael Lowry to ensuring this outcome, and that of the local committee, including John Lupton, Liam Shanahan and the late Steve Crofton.

“This has been a long and hard-fought battle, which makes the news of this success all the sweeter,” Cllr Lee said.

‘TINGE OF SADNESS’

This sentiment was reciprocated by Mr Lupton, Chairman of Roscrea Community Development Council. While welcoming the Capital Plan news, he added that “there is however a tinge of sadness that it is our friend and colleague Steve Crofton, who was so passionately committed to the future of the Dean Maxwell home, is not with us to hear it, but we certainly feel his spirit with us today.

“The people of Roscrea will without exception rejoice at this announcement as it was feared over past years that the Dean Maxwell home and the unique facilities that it offered the community over the past 50 years might come to an end,” Mr Lupton stated.

“It was feared that many Roscrea people would as a result have to live out their twilight years away from their place of belonging and community and friends.

“The Dean Maxwell home is truly a ‘home’ for many people from Roscrea and district and for the community as a whole. To have lost it would have been to lose the heart of the community of Roscrea, but to retain and develop it is affirmation of the very essence of community.”

FAMILIES WELCOME

Meanwhile a spokesperson for the families of Dean Maxwell residents welcomed the commitment to build a new nursing home and thanked all involved in the outcome.

“We wanted to spare current residents of the home the trauma of being dislodged from their community and scattered far and wide to other nursing homes. We also wanted to ensure that our older people who might require residential care in the future would continue to be able to call Roscrea home, with ready access by family and friends in visiting, and their own family GP for their ongoing care.

“The new facility will not only replace, but double the existing number of beds at the Dean Maxwell, so crucial in terms of forward planning for our increasing older population in the town and surrounding areas.

“Families will be meeting with the HSE in the coming weeks to discuss next steps in making the new home a reality.”