Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A programme on RTÉ last night referred to the Solas respite care centre in Sligo, which was built seven years ago at a cost of €1.5 million. I have raised this issue on several occasions in the House. At the start of the year we were told that the facility would be shut down and the service provided by an outside agency from the end of September or early October. Unfortunately, that service is not yet in place. In fact, I understand the provider has not yet identified a building from which it can be delivered. The area encompassing Sligo, Leitrim, south Donegal and west Cavan is massive, with a broad spread of patients who require respite care. Everybody was very happy with the service provided at the Solas centre before it was shut down under the decongregation model. That policy amounts to a false economy. Those who require emergency respite care, including people in wheelchairs, must now make a round trip of 240 km from Sligo to Monaghan. That is neither fair nor humane.

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