John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of funding for Tiglin rehabilitation centre in Ashford, County Wicklow. I know that the Minister of State is aware of this matter and has had the opportunity to visit Tiglin in the past. Tiglin was established in about 2008 in a fairly remote part of County Wicklow. For anybody who has had the opportunity to visit the facility, there has been a transformation in the past seven, eight or nine years since its very humble and modest beginnings. The centre provides residential rehabilitation programmes for both males and females in addiction. Its programmes are very holistic and complete. It is not just about dealing with addiction but about trying to equip people to go back into normal life, giving them skills - whether that is in terms of doing courses in manual handling, HACCP, first aid or parenting - and eventually helping them with housing and so forth. It takes a very rounded and holistic approach. I had the opportunity at one point to sit in the Minister of State's seat. From the visits I paid to Tiglin, I was really impressed with the work done there.

Like many organisations dealing with residential rehabilitation, Tiglin is working on a shoestring budget. Funding is insecure from year to year and is in most cases dependent on voluntary contributions and local fundraising efforts. Residential rehabilitation does not come cheap. On the other hand, the outcomes are very good. The cost of having somebody continuing in addiction is much higher than treating a person who can live a life free from it. I do not want to get into the details now - as they can be discussed later - but the outcomes arrived at in respect of those who access Tiglin have been proven to be extremely good. I have met people from my area who have gone through the process, having been in residential care in Tiglin for a year, and who have moved on with their lives, do not use any substances and are free of addiction. They now lead different lifestyles.

I am raising this issue today because, for the past couple of years, Tiglin has received funding from different HSE regions. The problem is that the services it provides cannot be turned on and off. A few weeks ago, right at the end of last year, the centre received a letter from the HSE Dublin north - I think it is in CHO area 9 - effectively advising it that no funding would be forthcoming this year. In my view, that is a very unreasonable thing to do with no advance warning and no preparation time given. From the point of view of the rehabilitation service, it is not in a position to close its doors and tell people to go home as it has no place for them. That would be unthinkable.

The amount of funding involved in recent years was €50,000. The underlying concern is that, because of where Tiglin is located, it is not a locally-based resource. In other words, it does not just pick people from its own immediate catchment area. People from all over Dublin are using the service. When I made inquiries -the Minister of State is probably aware of this - I discovered that one quarter of the people who are in residential care in Tiglin are from the HSE Dublin north catchment area. It has chosen this year to withdraw its entire funding, which is only €50,000. That money would not cover 20% of the cost of dealing with the cohort from the area in question who are using the service. However, the loss of that €50,000 has put an unbearable strain on Tiglin. What is worse is that HSE Dublin north has suggested to the organisers, the CEO and those running Tiglin that they should apply to a different HSE region for funding. That is not compatible. There needs to be joined-up thinking. The organisation does not have the wherewithal or the capability to apply to various parts of the HSE in order to seek funding. It is looking for a joined-up response from the Minister of State and the HSE regarding the provision of funding. The latter should - at a minimum - be provided at the same level as has been the case up to now, particularly as the demand for the services offered at the centre is increasing rather than decreasing.

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