Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of the Cope Foundation facility in Bandon, which is closed at the moment, and the impact this is having on the Cope facility in Clonakilty. As the Minister of State knows well, at the start of Covid disability services were scaled back and closed in certain instances. The Minister of State fought really hard to ensure that those facilities were reopened to the fullest extent they could be at the time. During subsequent lockdowns she rallied to keep those facilities open. That is really important. However, in the Cope facility in Bandon during one of those lockdowns a refurbishment happened. Since then, and we are talking a good while ago now, Cope has not reopened that residential facility for adults with intellectual disabilities and very high needs. It has remained closed. It is that old chestnut that keeps cropping up, namely, the difficulty in recruiting staff.

This has severely impacted the provision of services to people with high needs in the Bandon-Clonakilty region. The decision was made to relocate some of the service users into the facility in Clonakilty. I would not have an issue with anybody receiving any type of service. However, it meant that certain residents who had been in the Clonakilty facility for years had to be cared for at home. I mention one gentleman whose name I have permission to use, Liam Sheehy. He is a gentleman from the Clonakilty area who was availing of the residential services in Clonakilty. As a result of the situation in the Cope facility in Bandon, he is no longer doing so. The stress and strain that change in circumstances has caused to Liam are huge. Furthermore, the stress and strain of the family now having to care for Liam's needs have had an enormous impact. That is the reality on the ground created by the simple closure of a facility that has not been reopened, although it has been refurbished to a very high standard by all accounts. Other service users who have availed of residential facilities in Bandon and Clonakilty find themselves in the same situation. It is not good enough.

I appreciate the Minister of State's very quick correspondence when she wrote to me about this matter, which she escalated. However, the fact of the matter is that the service in Bandon remains closed. I urge the Minister of State to do everything she can and leave no stone unturned to ensure that services reopen and the likes of Liam Sheehy can return to some form of routine and avail of the services he had availed of previously in Clonakilty. I spoke to the family just before coming in here. We are hearing talk of a potential February date for reopening the Cope facility in Bandon, which would be very welcome if it were the case. I would appreciate if we could get some type of confirmation on that.

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