Complaint made on Minister's role in residential home siege

Batt O'Keeffe is the subject of a complaint made to the Taoiseach's Department over his role in the siege at the Slí Eile centre in Charleville. By Felim McMahon and Vincent Browne

A complaint has been made to the Taoiseach's office about the conduct of junior Minister, Batt O'Keeffe TD in relation to the protest at Charleville, Co Cork at a house designated as a home for people recently discharged from mental hospitals.

The protest has been continuing for five months and the home has been picketed by local residents since the beginning of April. As a consequence, the plan of the sponsors of the venture, Slí Eile, to move into the house people in need of supportive accommodation has had to be deferred. Batt O'Keeffe TD, a junior Fianna Fáil, Minister, has forwarded to the protestors letters Slí Eile had sent to public authorities and containing confidential information about Slí Eile's plans and options.

Batt O'Keeffe has defended his action by claiming that the documentation he forwarded included "positive" information. Asked what was that "positive" information, he said the revelation that Slí Eile were considering abandoning the Charleville home and moving elsewhere because of the protest. Slí Eile has complained officially to the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, about Batt O'Keeffe's conduct. One of the documents forwarded to the residents by Batt O'Keeffe was a communication between Cork County Council and Slí Eile. The executive housing officer of Cork County Council said the release of the letter to the residents was "unfortunate". He said: "I would not have released these documents to the residents if they had asked me directly, because of the sensitivity of the situation".

Batt O'Keeffe has recently decided to switch constituencies and to stand in Cork North West, which includes Charleville, in the next election. He was elected in 2002 and in previous elections for Cork South Central but has changed constituencies because of constituency boundary changes. He is a former chairman of the Southern Health Board and in that capacity spoke enthusiastically about projects such as envisaged in Charleville.

A further complaint has been made by Slí Eile to the Gardai alleging harassment and intimidation on the part of the protestors. The protests have involved the placing of placards throughout the estate in Charleville where the home is located, Pike Farm estate, intensive picketing of the home itself when there is anybody present, and the picketing of the private home of the main director of Slí Eile, Joan Hamilton. The protestors claim entitlement to picket the private home for it is the registered office of Slí Eile.

Slí Eile had held off making a formal complaint to the Gardai until Monday, 23 May, because they felt doing so would inflame the situation.

Batt O'Keeffe is junior minister at the department which funded the purchase of the Slí Eile residence in Charleville, the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Village enquired of Batt O'Keeffe's office if the Taosieach had made any enquires of him about his role in the Slí Eile controversy in Charleville. The call was not returned.

The Health Services Executive (HSE) for the southern region (effectively the former Southern Health Board) has indicated to Slí Eile that it wants it to abandon the Charleville project because of the protests. The HSE has told Slí Eile there will be no funding for the project for 2005 and 2006, although it is part of the health strategy to support the housing of people recently discharged from psychiatric hospitals in residences where they are helped to cater for themselves, maintain their accommodation and relearn how to cope independently.

This is even though several of those involved with Slí Eile have had direct experience in running such projects elsewhere and Joan Hamilton has long experience in the mental health area, having previously launched the Cork Advocacy Network.

Aside from Batt O'Keeffe, none of the local TDs have expressed unequivocal opposition to the conduct of the protestors. Michael Moynihan TD (Fianna Fáil), who had a part in the initial generating of the controversy, by leaking news of the funding of the project at Pike Farm, before there was an opportunity to inform the residents what was proposed, has spoken of "massive mistakes" on both sides. While saying the conduct of the protestors has been "shocking" he has qualified this by emphasising his view that "massive mistakes" have been made by both sides – the mistakes of Slí Eile being failure to provide complete information to residents on first being asked to do so, insisting on the relocating of a prearranged initial meeting, engagement in videoing the protesting placards in circumstances that gave rise to alarm about child abduction and failure to apologise immediately for that (an apology has since been made), and inflammatory comments on the part of a director of Slí Eile.

The Fine Gael TD, Gerard Murphy, has sought to engage both sides in dialogue, unsuccessfully. In order not to compromise his proposal he has refrained from condemning the actions of the protestors. The other TD for the constituency, Donal Moynihan (also Fianna Fáil) has not been involved.