Green Party councillor, Deirdre de Burca has called on Wicklow County Council to retain the old library and county council offices site in Blessington for an Elderly Day Care Centre. Cllr de Burca made her call having seen correspondence from a senior council official, Mr Joe Lane, announcing that Wicklow County Council proposes to sell off the old Library and old County Council offices located on the green at Rockypool Villas, Blessington.

“This letter suggested that the council needs to sell the land in order to address the deficit which it has incurred through investing in the new One Stop Shop and other new developments in Blessington” says de Burca. “I find this a very poor argument. Blessington has been starved of any local government investment for years and now the local people are being told that the council must sell off valuable property in the town to pay for new developments it has delivered”.

The Green Party councillor says that she believes that any decision to sell off this site would be a mistake on the council’s part and would show very short-term vision. “At present elderly people in Blessington must undertake a 40 mile round trip every day to the hospital in Baltinglass” she says. “This is very unfair on people who are often frail and in poor health. The population of Blessington is growing and there is no provision at the moment for its elderly population into the future”.

Cllr de Burca says that she has been to walk the site herself and has met with representatives from a local campaign group who wish to see this site being used as a Day Centre for the elderly. “I have also received a petition from residents who live near to the site opposing the sale of the site to private interests but supporting the use of the site for a community service such as an elderly day care centre” she says. “There is clearly strong community support for such a Day Centre and I have been told Baltinglass hospital would provide staff members for the centre”.

De Burca points out that despite what council officials say, the site in question cannot be disposed of without the support of the councillors on Wicklow County Council. “Only councillors have the legal power to dispose of land and it is my hope that a majority of councillors will insist on keeping the site in council ownership and using it for a badly-needed elderly day care centre” she says.