Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for her latitude. I want to talk to the Minister of State about the hydrotherapy pool in Enable Ireland in Cavan, which I was very privileged to bring her to see. I want to thank her publicly for the time she spent in Cavan-Monaghan to visit many of our disability services.

I am sure she was as shocked as I was to see a wonderful facility lying closed when so many children and adults in our disability services could desperately do with such a facility in order to improve their care. The facility cost in the region of €500,000 to build and was opened four years ago. To my dismay, it lies empty and unused four years on. It has to be acknowledged that the cost of the building was not covered by the HSE alone; local people believed in the facility, got behind it and fundraised to see it built. When the building work was completed by Enable Ireland, it went about a recruitment process and put in place a part-time pool attendant in late 2018. Unfortunately, the post holder only remained in place for about six months. The pool has lain empty and the facility has been closed since then.

The Minister of State was, as I said, as gobsmacked as I was to see the facility lying empty, the paint peeling off the walls, and the good staff at Enable Ireland being left with an empty and unattended hydrotherapy pool for the past four years. It is nothing short of disgraceful. I got a real sense from the staff during the visit that strong intervention is needed on our part to ensure that the facility is opened, it has the money required to put an attendant in place, put water into the pool, get the service up and running as quickly as possible and bring this integral part of the facility back into play as part of the services required. Enable Ireland recently submitted a business case to the HSE for funding to cover the running costs, including employing a full-time pool attendant at the centre, and that the figure is in the region of €60,000 per annum. Money will need to be spent on remedial works at the facility. This should be doable, considering the overall budget for health care and disability services.

The Minister of State has a passion for this area, and her visit on that day meant so much to the staff, parents and service users. To see a facility like a hydrotherapy pool which could be used as part of rehabilitation programmes for the area lying idle is disappointing. It is a magnificent facility to have. I understand it is the only one in community health organisation, CHO, 1. For the information of anybody listening to the debate, that includes Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim and Sligo.

I would welcome anything the Minister of State can do. As I said, she has been very passionate about all things to do with disability services. However, if it had not been for her visit on the day I would not be as aware as I am that a magnificent building and facility is not being used. The Minister of State had great ideas on the day of her visit about how we could go outside of service users if funding is an issue. Hard work has been done and €500,000 has been spent to put the facility in place. To say that we need money to paint the walls, put water in the pool and provide a pool attendant seems a very shallow answer as to why a pool has lain empty for four years. Perhaps the Minister of State can throw some light on the situation. I appeal her to do all she can to ensure that this is up and running as soon as possible.

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