Thank you for your letter regarding St. Mary’s Day Centre in Rathmines. I appreciate you taking the time to write to me about this matter.

This issue was brought to my attention some months ago by Joan Steadman and Father Sheehy.

Following our discussions I then spoke to the Health Service Executive in order to get further details of the plans for St. Mary’s and the area in general. It is true that the HSE is planning to consolidate services to save money, but also, to try and better manage the huge problems with sick leave within the organisation and how this impacts on the delivery of services. The aim insofar as St. Mary’s is concerned is to ensure that sick leave does not mean that the centre would have to be closed on a given day.

This is the explanation that was given to me though I am looking into it further given the importance of the service, the people who work there and those they look after. As I write this, it is my understanding that no final agreement has been reached.

I understand the importance of this facility for the community and I am actively working to address any curtailment of services. I have been in touch with the Minister directly on this issue, she has responded to me and we will be discussing the matter further.

Thank you very much for your interest.

All the best,

Eoghan