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By Michelle Crean

The HSE has this week said that the ‘foul odour’ emanating from the two-year-old state-of-the-art €13m Deer Lodge facility in Killarney will be resolved shortly.

A HSE spokesperson this week told the Killarney Advertiser that “contractors are currently addressing issues” at the centre on St Margaret's Road, which caters for 40 residents in need of long term psychiatric care.

The facility opened in July 2017, and often a foul odour permeates the building to the great distress of the residents and the staff. The issue was raised by Cllr Michael Gleeson, who said “the comfort of these people and the working conditions of the dedicated staff is being compromised by the terrible malodour”, and the Psychiatric Nurses’ Association (PNA). Deer Lodge is purpose built to facilitate the needs of the residents, he explained.

“Repeated representations have been made by staff to management to have the situation rectified,” he said. “Some attempts have been made to improve the situation including letting additional water flow through the system. To date there has not been a satisfactory solution and all in the building continue to endure the very upsetting presence of the odour. It is most assuredly a terrible contradiction that this state-of-the-art building for people with disability is causing them and their carers severe distress. It is long past time that the matter was seriously addressed by the authorities."

A spokesperson for the HSE this week said that they are aware that an odour has been occasionally detected in some parts of Deer Lodge.

“Contractors are currently addressing issues in specific parts of the building at the moment, and we expect this issue to be resolved shortly.”