Elderly Portlaoise residents without Meals on Wheels service since last June

More than two dozen elderly people in the Portlaoise area have been without a Meals on Wheels service since last June.

The service, which at one stage provided meals to around 27 people and was the largest in Laois, ceased operating when a temporary provider had to cease operations due to funding constraints. It was seen as a vital service to many users who are unable to cook for themselves. 

Meetings took place in the wake of the closure of the service last year but the Meals on Wheels failed to resume in Portlaoise. 

Teresa Lewis, whose mother Teresa McCloskey used the service as did her late father, Jim McCloskey, who sadly died in January, said the service is badly needed for the elderly in Portlaoise. 

“Mammy can’t cook and someone has to cook for her,” she explained. 

Teresa said her mother is unable to go to the shops and would be without food were it not for assistance from her family. 

Teresa’s primary concern is for the elderly people who don’t have family or friends around to step in and provide meals. 

Her parents are both from Portlaoise. Her dad’s parents ran McCloskeys Sweet Shop on Chapel Street and her mother was born in John’s Square and grew up on the Old Knockmay Road. She is a Brown from Brown’s shop on the Dublin Road, so they have family to look after them, Teresa explained. 

Social Inclusion Manager with Laois Partnership, Peter Ormond, said he is hopeful the service can get back up and running but he accepted it would be a matter of months rather than weeks.

He said the lack of Meals on Wheels was raised at a meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District and there have been two meetings since with different stakeholders. Further meetings are scheduled to take place in the next two weeks, he revealed. 

Mr Ormond said all avenues are being explored in relation to getting the service back operational. He said the will is there and “there is no shortage of volunteers” but “there is a lot of logistics involved.” 

He said a provider for the meals remained the main “stumbling block” for the service. 

“We are looking at what is available in Portlaoise,” he said.   

National Meals on Wheels Network Development Officer at Irish Rural Link, Tracey Noone is well aware of the need for the service in Portlaoise. 

She works with the national Meals on Wheels network under the umbrella of Irish Rural Link dealing with 260 providers across the country. 

“The Network is currently in the process of working with a number of relevant stakeholders to address the gap in service in Portlaoise town. A number of communications have taken place over the last number of months and the Network will be hosting a meeting with all relevant parties, venue and date to be confirmed,” she said. 

Labour Cllr Marie Tuohy said progress is being made but she doesn’t expect a speedy resolution. 

“At least we have managed to get the relevant people together,” she said. 

“There is a lot of people who care. Like everything, there is a process to go through and at least we have started,” said Cllr Tuohy. 

Cllr Tuohy believes the demand for the service could be even higher than the 27 people who were using it before it ended last summer. She remains optimistic that the service can be brought back to Portlaoise.