Village ‘totally unsuitable’ for teen care unit
RESIDENTS STAGE PROTEST AND VOW TO ENSURE HOME IS MOVED OUT
RESIDENTS of Shanballymore have vowed to “explore every avenue” available to them to ensure a care home for young people that was recently established there is moved away from the village.
Almost 50 people held a peaceful public protest outside of the care home on Wednesday to highlight their objections to the facility which they insist is “totally unsuitable” for its rural location.
Billy Gallagher, chairperson of the Shanballymore Concerned Residents committee, told The Corkman that their concerns were not simply rooted in a ‘not in my backyard’ philosophy.
He said residents are not happy that the facility was set without what they could consider adequate consultation with the local community.
“Our concerns are not just for the welfare of the local community but also for the teenagers who will be housed at the care centre as we believe this is a totally unsuitable location for such a facility,” he said.
“WE will explore every avenue open to us to ensure that this gets stopped.”
That was the pledge from Billy Gallagher, chair of the Shanballymore Concerned Residents committee, following a protest on Wednesday over the opening of a care centre for young people in the village.
Almost 50 people attended the peaceful protest outside the Daffodil Care Centre to air their concerns over the establishment of the facility in the village, which they say was opened without consultation with the local community.
Speaking to The Corkman, Mr Gallagher was keen to point out that this was not a case of ‘not in our backyard’, insisting that the site chosen for the home, which will house children between the ages of 12-18, was “totally unsuitable.”
“We are aware of certain incidents that have taken place in the vicinity of similar care homes run by the same company at other locations around the country. We have an ageing population in Shanballymore and locals have genuine concerns that the same could happen here,” said Mr Gallagher.
He said the protest was in response to what he described as “the lack of information and the clear disregard” for the impact the home would have on local residents and on teenagers shown by the director of Daffodil Services, Carlos Kelly, at a public meeting held in the local community centre earlier this month.
He said locals were also angry at the “secretive” manner in which the home was set up, with residents only becoming aware of it “by accident.”
He said it only came to light after locals noticed more than 15 cars parked outside the private house where the care home is situated, approximately 1.4km outside the village, on July 31.
Mr Gallagher said it only emerged the building had been leased to Daffodil Care after a local resident approached its owner.
“It is disgraceful that a private company can set up a facility such as this without any consultation with the local community. Our concerns are not just for the welfare of the local community but also for the health and safety of teenagers who will be housed at the care centre as we believe this is a totally unsuitable location for such a facility,” he said.
“We will explore every avenue available to us to ensure this is stopped,” he said.
Junior Minister David Stanton and a number of county councillors attended a meeting in the village last Monday held to discus the issue.
“I have listened to the concerns of local residents and undertook to relay them to my colleague the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Catherine Zappone, which I have done,” said Deputy Stanton.
“I think that these concerns have arisen because of the lack of prior engagement with the local community, something that needs to be addressed,” he said.
The Corkman did attempt to contact Carlos Kelly for comment but was unable to do so at time of going to press.