Step-down facility to officially open

A step-down facility which was lying idle for a decade will officially open its doors this afternoon. 

Cuan Mhuire’s property on Western Road will be officially opened today by Catherine Byrne TD, Minister of State at the Department of Health. 

Called Teach Mhuire, it was the former Abbeypoint House B&B and was bought by charity in late 2007. Over the 12 years, there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between Cuan Mhuire and several agencies to get the 16 bedroom facility up and running.

After Cuan Mhuire refurbished the house 12 years ago, it needed €300,000 to run the facility annual but there was a disagreement as to who should pay for it – the HSE said it was a homeless facility so it should be under the remit of Cork City Council, while the city council was of the opinion that it was a medical facility so the HSE should fund it annually. 

However, in late 2018, the HSE finally decided to grant the funding. 

The facility provides treatment for homeless men who have undergone detox and rehabilitation for their addictions and provides food, counselling, aftercare, relapse prevention and help with getting residents back to work.