“Brilliantly created to generate the sense of being a real home and a real community”, says Archbishop
A complex of 37 homes for older people, built and managed by the St Benedict’s Conference of Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP),was officially opened and blessed today by Dr. Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin.
The homes, St. Benedict’s Housing, are situated on Estuary Road, Malahide, County Dublin.
St Benedict's is designed for older people capable of independent living. Situated on a 2.5 acre site the single story one and two-bedroom homes are just a short distance from the amenities of Malahide village. Within the complex there is a Community Building which includes a laundry, quiet room, kitchen, library and meeting area. There is also a resident supervisor available for providing support to the residents.
The project was initiated by the executors/trustees of the late Josephine Dunning of Estuary Road, Malahide who owned the site and who determined that it should be used for housing for elderly people. The SVP were given the lands after drawing up a proposal for the construction and management of the complex in 2006.
St. Benedict’s Housing cost €7 million, the funding was facilitated by Fingal County Council under the Voluntary Housing Capital Assistance Scheme following approval from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
Funding for the Community Building was provided from the Lottery Funds Grant Scheme for Communal Facilities. The Society of St Vincent de Paul also funded the Project.
Pat Sheehy, President of St. Benedict’s Conference said that the Conference is delighted with the support from the Fingal County Council, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the National Lottery and the local community. He paid a particular tribute to the volunteer members of St. Benedict’s Conference for all their work in bringing the project to fruition.
“Already the complex is 75% occupied and we expect it to be fully occupied in the next few months”, he said.
Rose McGowan, President of the Dublin Region SVP paid tribute to the members of
Saint Benedict’s Conference for their initiative and dedicated efforts to bring this project to reality. “The Dublin Region of the Society now manages 131 houses in the Dublin area and is the largest provider of Social Housing in Ireland”, she said. “It is a vital part of the Society's service to the community and we are particularly pleased that Archbishop Martin should be here today, the feast day of Saint Vincent de Paul, to officially bless and open Saint Benedict’s Housing”.
At the official opening Archbishop Martin said “It would be too simplistic to describe Saint Benedict's as just housing for the elderly. Saint Benedict’s is more than just a roof: it has been very brilliantly created to generate the sense of being a real home and a real community. The building stands not in the model of institutional isolation that was characteristic of establishments of the past, but right in the heart of the community. I congratulate the architect and the builders and the crafts people for the realisation of such an imaginative project. I congratulate the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul for this.
He went on to say that, “Should economic cut backs begin in one way or another to weaken the quality of this home-based service or even demolish it, then our society would have to face a real challenge in our care for the elderly. There are too few alternatives available. Caring for the elderly must involve a package of various alternatives to respond to various needs. Institutionalisation should only enter the scene when it is the best option, and never the first option. Ireland has had a sad story of institutions, and our elderly deserve to receive the benefits of the wealth which they themselves fought for and contributed to”.