Gardai in Swords are investigating the malicious damage of a house owned by Northern Area Health Board (NAHB) in which former inmates of a local psychiatric hospital are to be housed as part of the local community.
Carlton House, at Lispopple, just outside Swords, was picketed every day last week by members of the local residents' committee who are objecting to the house being used by the NAHB to house people from the mental health services at St Ita's, Portrane.
Yesterday, in the early hours, the house was broken into from the rear, mirrors and toilets were smashed, cisterns and tanks damaged and petrol was poured over the newly-lain carpet. New furniture was due to be moved in this weekend and the residents were expected to arrive next week, health board chairman, Ms Anne Devitt, who resides in the neighbourhood, said.
The chairman of the Lispopple residents' association, Mr Paddy Brennan, who lives next door to Carlton House, said all the members were "appalled" at the vandalism and distanced themselves unreservedly from it. "We ran a peaceful protest. We have 41 members. Nobody on our committee knows anything about this."
The residents had been working for some time to get the health board to change its mind about locating the former inmates of St Ita's at Carlton House.
The modern, eight-bedroomed suburban residence was purchased just before Christmas for £800,000 as part of the Government's programme to rehouse former inmates of psychiatric institutions in the community.
"As money became available we have been buying similar houses all over the health board area to house people like this in high-support units such as Carlton House," said Ms Devitt.
The houses are attended by nursing staff on a 24-hour basis and the inmates work and attend therapy sessions locally as a normal part of community living on a permanent basis, she said.
She added that she knew of the objections of many of her neighbours to the location of the unit in Lispopple. "I could hardly refuse to support a unit in my own back yard when I had been more than willing to vote for such houses elsewhere."
The health board did not need planning permission for the home as there were no more than six residents. Originally, it had been planned to move in more than this but this would have necessitated planning permission from the local authority - and inevitably local objections.