A man arrested in Cork in January after €2.3 million was found in his garden was one of the directors of a private nursing home in the midlands from which the Health Service Executive (HSE) began moving patients yesterday.
Ted Cunningham (57), from Farran, Co Cork, was one of three directors of Tullybeg Retirement Village Ltd. He was arrested but released without charge after €2.3 million was found in a green compost bin at the rear of his home.
Senior gardaí believe this money was linked to the Northern Bank raid last December, which has been blamed on the Provisional IRA.
The proprietors of the home in Rahan, Co Offaly, contacted the HSE on Monday to advise they had ceased to have any involvement with it or responsibility for it and they requested the HSE to make arrangements to place all residents in alternative accommodation, the HSE said in a statement.
Instead of incurring the cost of taking over the home, which would include paying staff wages, the HSE decided it was best to move all patients.
Six of the 36 patients were transferred by ambulance to other homes in the region. The remaining 30 will be transferred by tomorrow evening. The HSE said it "recognises that this will cause inconvenience to patients and next of kin/family alike, however it is obliged under the nursing home regulations to ensure the health and wellbeing of nursing home residents.
"Accordingly, the HSE has identified alternative accommodation for each resident of Tullybeg Retirement Village and will assist in their transfer over the next couple of days in consultation with the residents, their families and staff."
The HSE added: "The closure of Tullybeg Retirement Village was not at the behest of the HSE Midland Area and was not related to any concerns over patient care or safety."
A statement from the board of directors of the retirement village said the primary reason the home had closed was "the insufficient number of clients and financial issues".
The board said the company was "unable to sustain losses" and the decision was taken with "great regret" and with the "safety and long-term care of the clients" in mind.
"The board of directors wish to thank the staff most sincerely for their help, understanding and their loyalty through the last number of months," it added.
A member of staff, Maura Healion, whose mother Nellie Marshall (86) is a patient at the home, said staff had not been paid for three weeks, but the first she heard of the closure was when the HSE contacted her as her mother's next-of-kin.
"Staff and clients are very upset," she said. "It is not right to move those people. I will not be moving my mother to another nursing home - I am going to take her home."
Tullamore Town Council chairman Tommy McKeigue (FG) said it was not right for patients to be transferred up to 28 miles away to nursing homes in Clara and Birr. "I believe there should be a stay put on this for three or four weeks to stop patients being transferred," he said.
It is understood a nine-hole golf course adjoining the nursing home is also to close.