Former North Cork hospital will not be used to house asylum seekers

The former Heatherside Hospital near Doneraile is not to be used to house international protection applicants, and will be handed back to the HSE, the department of integration has confirmed.

It comes following protests at the site of the former hospital building last May after reports of its potential use were circulated on social media.

Heatherside Hospital was built in the early 1900s to be used as a tuberculosis sanatorium, but its use switched to a psychogeriatic hospital after the eradication of tuberculosis in the 1950s, before it was closed permanently in 2010.

The building was deemed surplus to requirements by the HSE last year and offered to the department of children, equality, disability, integration and youth (DCEDIY), who assessed the property, but have now deemed it unsuitable for IPAS accommodation.

A spokesperson for the department told The Echo it has “informed local representatives and groups that it will not be developing international protection accommodation at Heatherside Hospital near Doneraile”.

The spokesperson explained: “The department continues to work to find accommodation for all people seeking international protection and implement the government’s Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy. Under the strategy, a range of options are being progressed to source and develop accommodation and create a more sustainable accommodation system.

“Extensive cross-government engagement has taken place to identify and negotiate the use of state-owned sites for potential emergency accommodation and longer-term solutions. As part of this process, the HSE licensed the site at Heatherside Hospital to DCEDIY in 2024.

“DCEDIY has undertaken a full assessment of the site and has determined that it is not suitable for development as an accommodation centre for people seeking international protection. DCEDIY has now begun the process to hand back the site to the HSE.”