A “lifeline” service for older people in south Dublin faces closure after more than six decades as its religious founders say they can no longer maintain it.
The Walkinstown Social Service Centre (WSSC), established by the Religious Sisters of Charity in 1965, will be the subject of a crisis HSE meeting on Tuesday as part of efforts to save it.
The centre provides food and social contact to about 50 older people daily from its premises, which is owned by the sisters and located on the order’s lands.
Nuns are not involved in the day-to-day running of the WSSC, which is funded by the HSE. The order has a service level agreement with the HSE, employing five staff and a number of people through employment schemes.
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The Sisters of Charity wrote to the WSSC board last month saying they were “no longer in a position to continue managing or sustaining the work”.
An independent report indicated that “urgent works” to bring the building into compliance with fire, health and safety requirements would cost more than €200,000, the order said. This, and the “ageing profile of the sisters”, meant it was “not feasible to continue” with the WSSC.
“Sadly today we have provided six months’ written notice to the HSE of our intention to relinquish responsibility for the management and operation of the service on 31st December 2026,” the letter said.
‘Losing this would be awful for me. I will get depressed if it’s gone. I love the company. You have no idea how much good this place does for us’
— Iris Clayton, service user
Some service users said they were told what was due to happen by one of the sisters recently after having their lunch.
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“I had to bite my tongue not to cry,” says Iris Clayton (in her 70s), who started attending WSSC more than a year ago while recovering from a fall. “I was happy the moment I first walked in here. It’s a lifeline.”
She was one of about 16 visitors present for lunch last Tuesday. Mushroom soup, roast chicken and vegetables, and apple crumble were on the menu, followed by a game of bingo.
Like others, Clayton was collected by a WSSC bus which later drops people home. Attendees pay €8 a day for transport, lunch and activities.
“Losing this would be awful for me,” she says. “I will get depressed if it’s gone. I love the company. You have no idea how much good this place does for us.”
Bridget Brady (90), who lives alone, says “it is lovely to get out and have a chat and a good meal”.
“I wouldn’t be able to walk over here, so the bus is great. I got a shock when I heard it might close. It’s awful. Where will we go?” she adds.
Mick Curran (92) has been coming to WSSC since his late wife went into long-term care in 2023.
“This place means a lot,” he says. “It makes a big difference from sitting at home looking at the old tele. I would be lonely without this place, no doubt about it.”
Evelyn Reynolds (93) also looks forward to her visits.
“I get lonely on my own. There is only me left of all my friends,” she says. “I used to hear people say: ‘I don’t want to be here. All my friends are gone.’ Now, that is what it’s like for me. Here, I love the company, the bingo, all of it. This would be awful to lose.”
Centre manager Michele Deegan says staff and the older people who “depend” on the service are “still in shock” at the news that it could close. She questions whether upgrading the premises would cost as much as the order’s report suggests, and says the board was seeking its own quotes.
“We have asked the sisters what is their intention for the building. They haven’t been able to answer so far,” she adds.
The outlook for the five staff members remains unclear.
“The ideal option is that we can stay here, rent the building from the sisters,” says Deegan. “If that doesn’t work we need to find an alternative premises ... But it needs to be in the area and we would need support from the HSE.”
A spokeswoman for the Religious Sisters of Charity said the decision “to relinquish responsibility for the management and operation” was “not taken lightly”.
“We recognise that this news is deeply upsetting for service users, families, our staff and many volunteers. The sisters remain committed to working closely and constructively with the HSE and all stakeholders during this period to support an orderly transition and to ensure the wellbeing of service users remains the central focus.”
A HSE spokesman said officials were “engaging with the service to explore all options around maintaining or relocating the service, and will be meeting Walkinstown Social Service Centre management committee in the coming week to progress this”.
