Western Care Association cleared of operating ‘unregistered’ care homes

Mayo based charity, Western Care Association, who were accused of operating six care homes within the district without registering them, have been cleared of all charges brought against them.

In a prosecution which is the first of its kind in Ireland, Western Care Association were accused of six counts of breaching the Health Act 2007 by operating six care homes within the district without registering them with the Chief Inspector of Social Services.

The Castlebar-based charity which provides support to people with intellectual disabilities and their families denied that the homes in which the residents were living were care homes as outlined in the act.

The evidence in the case was heard over a number of days before Judge Adrian Harris in Castlebar District Court in April and June.

In his judgement at a special sitting of Castlebar District Court this morning, Judge Harris said that for the court to find the accused guilty of the offence, it must be satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt that the accused was carrying on the business of a designated centre on the dates referred to in the summons and providing residential services.

“The court is not satisfied, based on the evidence heard and documents submitted in evidence, beyond reasonable doubt that Western Care Association provided or was providing residential services on the dates in question and at the six residences in question as set out in the summons before the court,” he said.

On that basis Judge Harris said the court is not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Western Care Association carried on the business of a designated centre and he was dismissing all the charges.

Judge Harris had heard evidence that unannounced inspections of the properties which were located in various locations around Co Mayo took place in May and June of 2023. The court heard that there was concern in the office of the Chief Inspector of Social Services regarding a number of properties where Western Care provided care that they believed should have been registered as care centres.

These concerns were flagged with Western Care in advance of visits to five properties conducted on May 2 and 3, 2023. A separate inspection took place at the sixth property on June 13, 2023.

The court heard that many of the residents of the properties inspected needed one to one care and a staff member of Western Care had to be present on the property at all times.

In their defence, Western Care argued that they did not believe the majority of their services met the criteria for designated centres to be registered as the properties were not owned or leased by the charity. The residents who were provided with care by Western Care were the tenants of the property.

Ms Tia Crowley, who served as CEO of Western Care between 2019 and 2022, gave evidence where she felt that guidance from HIQA at the time was clear that designated centres were where accommodation and support was being provided and they only provided care.

Judge Harris was informed that the Chief Inspector of Social Services had no issue regarding the level of care given to the care user. It was also agreed that the media would not report the location of the properties in order not to identify the service users.