The proposal by the Southern Health Board to close Slieve Roe House is yet another blow to the community as a result of the Comprehensive Spending Review, which is removing our front line services.

Slieve Roe House provides vital residential, day and respite care to many families in the Mourne area, and I am sure there is not one family in the Mourne area that has not availed of the service offered by Slieve Roe House throughout the years.

While the Trust concentrate on the “alternative” arrangements they will put in place for residents, which will in no way replace statutory residential care, we must also remember the staff at Slieve Roe House, and that the closure of this facility would not only place their jobs in jeopardy, but remove a source of employment from the Kilkeel area for many others.

I am also concerned that the Trust are proposing to make a final decision on the future of Slieve Roe House at the end of March 2009, within a few weeks of the public consultation ending in mid March 2009. I find it impossible to believe that a decision, which we are told will take into account the countless views of the community gathered over a period of four months of consultation, could be made within one to two weeks of the consultation ending. It would appear that the Trust are simply undertaking consultation as a legal requirement but have no real intent to listen to the community.

The closure of Slieve Roe House would remove statutory residential care from the Mourne area and while it may be the Trust’s belief that residential care is a remnant of the past, the community may feel very differently. No matter how this is dressed up with alternatives of care in the community, the closure of Slieve Roe house would remove choice for the elderly in the Mourne area, as they would no longer be able to avail of statutory residential care.