Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

On behalf of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, I thank the Deputy for raising the matter and giving me the opportunity to outline the position with regard to St. Mary's residential care facility, Drumcar, County Louth. I appreciate the Deputy's personal interest in the matter.

The Department has, since 1997, allocated a significant level of funding across the disability sector which has resulted in significant and unprecedented developments in the quality and quantity of the health related services being provided to people with disabilities. With regard to the matter raised by the Deputy, in June 2002 St. Mary's, Drumcar, was served with formal notice of industrial action by the Irish Nurses Organisation because of the staffing position in its residential services.

As requested by the order, the services of the Labour Relations Commission were availed of. One of the proposals to emerge from the conciliation conference was to conduct an independent review of the staffing of the residential services at St. Mary's. It was agreed that this review would be conducted by Diana Sale and Bob Oreschnick, 1066 Consultancy and Healthcare Consultancy Limited. They were commissioned by the order to undertake the work. The report was finalised on 13 November 2002.

Statutory responsibility for the provision of intellectual disability services, including the funding of the Drumcar services, lay with the then North Eastern Health Board. Following publication of the report, the board indicated that there was insufficient funding available to it to implement the recommendations contained in the report. Following discussions between the Department, the North Eastern Health Board and the St. John of God order in February 2003, agreement was reached on the provision of funding to enable the order to proceed with the immediate recruitment of 30 additional staff. The initial investment, amounting to approximately €l million, was intended to address the priority issues identified in the Sale and Oreschnick report around quality of care and health and safety.

Agreement was reached on a process by which the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report would be progressed as a matter of priority as resources permitted. As it has not been possible to provide further additional funding in 2004, both the order and the North Eastern Health Board have expressed anxiety regarding funding for the further implementation of the report, which recommended a total of 94 additional staff.

As the Deputy is aware, the Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive which was established on 1 January 2005. Under this Act, the executive is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to have delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Following a meeting held on 1 February 2005 between the Health Service Executive north east and St. John of God north east services, it was agreed to use the existing joint partnership forum to develop a strategy on how best to continue the implementation of the Sale and Oreschnick report to address the outstanding priority concerns regarding health and safety issues and critical staffing levels at St. Mary's residential services. It is expected to complete this process by the end of the month.

In the meantime, St. John of God north east services has undertaken to defer the decision around the suspension of respite service provision in St. Mary's until 28 February 2005. The Health Service Executive north east disability services and St. John of God north east services will arrange to keep parent representatives abreast of developments in the process. Both parties are hopeful of a positive outcome.

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