Muiríosa gets green light for ‘hub’ at former Castlepollard bank building

A new future may be on the horizon for the former Bank of Ireland premises at The Square in Castlepollard, which is a protected structure.

Westmeath County Council has granted permission to the Muiríosa Foundation to convert the ground floor of the premises to a day service facility.

The Muiríosa Foundation, which is funded by the HSE, provides services to individuals with mild-moderate intellectual disabilities and associated conditions, such as autism, physical and sensory disabilities and mental health difficulties.

Muiríosa is proposing that between 17 and 25 people with intellectual disabilities will use the building as a base. They will be assisted by a frontline team of health and social care professionals on a daily basis to progress their skills through in-house learning and community classes.

The cover letter submitted to the county council with the application in January explained that Muiríosa operates a number of day services in Longford, Westmeath and Meath.

“The day services are structured as ‘hubs’, essentially a building which is a base for up to 25 individuals to link with and get frontline supports from health and social professionals,” the letter stated.

It explained that the services provided included support and supervision to access local communities to gain employment, education, vocational opportunity and leisure pursuits.

“People may be accompanied to attend library, leisure centres, clubs, events, classes and also to engage in activities of daily living such as personal shopping, appointments, banking etc.”

The hubs can also be used as bases to build on skill-learning around money management, household skills, personal development and self-care, delivered by the in-house team.

The bank building, which incorporates a bank manager residence, appears to have been constructed in around 1880.