HSE sale threat to Teach na nDaoine council plan

Teach na nDaoine, Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer disappointed at sale plan.

A plan for Kildare County Council to acquire the Teach na nDaoine project building to use as a social facility for older people may be stymied by the HSE putting it up for sale on the open market, writes Brian Byrne. This is despite the fact that in April it appeared that agreement had been reached with the council on a transfer of the property. 

The building was handed back to the HSE late last year by the voluntary committee who had refurbished and extended the original Dispensary premises at a cost of €164,407, because they didn't have the expertise to manage the facility for their purpose as a seniors centre.

The reported change of mind by the HSE has been greeted with disappointment by Cllr Tracey O’Dwyer, who has worked since last year to have the council take over the property. Her case included the fact that a significant number of Kilcullen seniors are transported each week to Newbridge Day Care Centre. “I understand that the council will get first refusal when it goes for sale, but at market price,” she says of the latest move. “We just don’t have the money for that.”

In initial discussions, the HSE had previously tried to sell the building to the council, but following the discovery that KCC actually owns the land under the building, an agreed transfer of the property to the authority was reported in April to be 'going through solicitors'. Councillors had in the meantime agreed to provide €180,000 over three years to bring the building up to standard for an older persons centre.

The apparent about-turn will also cause significant dismay across the Kilcullen community, which has supported many fundraising events for the project, first mooted in 2015. It got underway in 2017 after the local committee agreed a lease of the building with the HSE.

At first, it was intended only to refurbish the original building, but the project was expanded to include a modern extension to the side and rear of the former Dispensary. 

Of the €164,407 spent on it, 71 percent was provided by grants. The balance came from local fundraising and donations. People with construction skills also contributed time and expertise to the project. If there is a sale, a question will certainly arise over the reimbursement of the money spent by the community, particularly the more than €116,000 in grants.

The completed building now includes a lounge, a dining room, a meeting room, an activity area, a kitchen, and two cloakrooms. The rooms have been furnished, and the property is an inviting environment designed to serve the community’s senior residents, if the facility can be operated as such. 

The HSE's property management department has been asked for a statement on the reported sale plan.

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