Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Fitzmaurice. I congratulate our new Minister. We soldiered together in another life and I know how committed he is to what he does. I wish him well in his new role.

I want to raise three points, the first of which I raised with the previous Minister for Health. The HSE's framework for the resumption of adult disability day services baldly states that the quantum of services supports will be cut back. We are talking to families, including adults who have disabilities ranging from mild and moderate to extreme, who have been largely abandoned in their homes since 16 March. Many of these people are at their wits' end. They see this new framework telling them about increased use of technology but many of the adults who have disabilities will not be able to use such technology for one reason or another. Will the Minister speak to the HSE and ask officials to look at this from the perspective of the family carers and the service users, to consult family carers and to make sure that the services put in place are adequate? The new normal should not involve cutting back services but should work towards full resumption of services.

My second point relates to residential care places for persons with intellectual disabilities. Many families are at their wits' end and I know of homes that are unsafe. There is a chronic shortage in that regard, about which I will speak to the Minister personally.

To move to my final point, we hear a lot about balanced regional development. I have heard the Minister himself mentioning it when speaking about broadband. It applies equally to his own Department, however. Investment in healthcare infrastructure in the northern and western region is 42% of that in the east and midlands. I know there are specialised hospitals in those regions but this investment does not even come close to what is required. In that context, I will refer to something which Deputy Feighan mentioned. What progress has been made in respect of the plans to construct a 46-bed medical unit at Sligo University Hospital? That would simply bring bed capacity in the region to the point at which it was ten years ago.

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