Nineteen elderly residents of a nursing home in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, have been told they must find new accommodation by the end of the month.
A delegation led by the mayor, Mr Brian O'Donnell, is to meet the South Eastern Health Board on Friday to discuss the residents of the Cottage Hospital nursing home who were given six weeks' notice that the premises is to close.
The home, which is in Irish town and has 16 full and part-time staff, has been on the market since November but the owner has failed to sell it as a going concern.
Ms Dolores Halpin-Bachmann, whose mother Ms Nellie Halpin lives in the home, said residents and their families were "devastated" by the decision. Some residents had been there for nine years and there was a family atmosphere. Relatives had full-time access to the premises "and even people who have not got relatives there pop in and out because they know the people". Mr O'Donnell said it might not be feasible for the board to take over the running of the home as some relatives hoped. It was important, however, that beds be found for the residents in Clonmel.
He said relatives had been given a list of alternative nursing homes in Clonmel, but they were all full and the only available places were 20 miles away. This would make frequent visits by relatives more difficult and would also take the residents away from their doctors.
The delegation, led by Mr O'Donnell, will meet the chief executive of the health board, Mr John Cooney.
In a statement yesterday, the board said 22 places had been identified for the residents and arrangements were being made to offer these places. A spokeswoman was unable to say whether the places concerned were in Clonmel.
Ms Halpin-Bachmann, who works for an aid agency in Denmark and has been involved in healthcare programmes in Bosnia and Kosovo, said World Health Organisation guidelines emphasised the need to provide care for people in their own communities.
It was important for residents, particularly those who were ill, that their normal routine be maintained, she said.
