Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Carers are unsung heroes. In my constituency in west Cork, I deal with them every day. When there is a lack of respite facilities, the fatigue they go through as a result is unreal. The Minister is aware that what is happening in west Cork is happening throughout the country. All carers feel the same fatigue, the same hurt and the same sense of helplessness. I am sure the Minister read in last weekend's Sunday Independent, the story of Noeleen Cullen. There is a Noeleen in every constituency. She said, "I badly need more respite services for the sake of my mental health and to get my energy back." In the same article, the general manager of community health care disability services in south Dublin, Kildare, and west Wicklow, said:

[R]espite services are running on reduced capacity due to budgetary restrictions. Currently, families receive respite mid-week and not weekends. The respite is usually of between two to four nights as the budget cannot meet full demand.

I know everything comes back to money but I hope the Minister can see the need for these respite houses to be up and running.

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