Concerns have been raised in the Dáil over the closure of the Rosalie Unit in Castlerea, Co Rosommon, which houses older people with dementia.
Twelve people live there and alternative clinical care will have to be provided for them.
Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said the families of the residents at the home had to hear about the decision to close the home on local radio when the Health Service Executive made it clear that the home would be closed.
He said the HSE had "consistently failed to communicate with the families of the residents".
Deputy Ó Caoláin said former minister Kathleen Lynch had told the families that the residents could see out their time in the home, and the HSE had now made a decision to close the home "without any consultation".
"This is their home, it is where they are happy and content, and where they have staff that care for them" he said.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney said the HSE did meet with the families concerned but did not know the detail of those meetings.
He said if the conditions under which elderly people are being cared for change, then detailed consultations with families about their loved ones should take place.
