Martin Ferris (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I raise with the Minister of State the issue of a centre in Dromavalla, Ballyseedy, County Kerry. It was furnished and officially opened in 2014 since when it has sat idle. No resident has moved into it. The project was spearheaded by Jim and Patricia Adams who, with many others and supported by various agencies, raised €1.3 million to allow it to come to fruition. Some €600,000 was provided by Kerry County Council, while €210,000 was raised by way of a cycle run in 2009, 2011 and 2013. Money was also raised on flag days, while other local charitable organisations helped along the way to complete the project.

Initially the centre was meant to be a home for nine residents, but under HIQA regulations, the figure was reduced to four in a congregated setting. The problem is that nothing has happened since. The centre is lying idle. The reason is no funding has been made available to develop a residential centre for autistic children. Many of the parents involved are moving on in years. Their children who are now adults are approaching 30 to 40 years of age and they fear what will happen to them when they pass on. Jim and Patricia Adams' son James, a potential resident in the facility, cannot live independently. That very fact exerts huge pressure on his parents. The Irish Society for Autism owns the building and the centre was constructed thanks to the various fundraising efforts.

In recent months Inspired Well-being, a Northern Ireland service provider, took the first steps to run the facility, but owing to a lack of funding, it had to pull out of the project. The national director of the organisation, Mr. William McAllister, said it had been in discussions with the HSE, the Irish Society for Autism, Kerry County Council, and others. It proposed to rent the building and that the HSE pay its costs as a service provider. However, the HSE has informed it that it does not have the funding available to pay for staffing and so forth. That is where we are at.

What is needed is a service provider, funded to meet its staffing and running costs. Obviously, the service has to be autism-specific. I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's response. I cannot over-emphasise the necessity for this facility, particularly on behalf of the parents, given what they are and have been enduring since completion of the building in 2014. It is a white elephant, although it is state-of-the-art, with furniture and everything in placein situ. Funding needs to be made available through the HSE in order that a service provider can help it to meet its responsibilities.

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