Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the Minister of State's work in respect of this. My frustration is that on the day - the Minister of State is right to say we had a very good meeting, there was energy in the room and we felt that everybody was on the same page - I detected a little hesitancy on the part of some of the HSE officials to use Cloonamahon. I did not know or understand why. I still do not understand why. The prospect that there may be difficulty with some oversized wheelchairs needs to be examined. Maybe that is the case. I am not sure if that is the case. I would have to be convinced that problem exists there because these bungalows were built 20 years ago. This is not something that goes back to Victorian times like the rest of the building, which houses an old convent. This is a modern, new building. It has hoists in place, rails in the ceilings and everything is there. It is HIQA approved, as it stands, and yet there is this reluctance to use it. The Minister of State mentioned "in the interim" until we get the others built. It should never ever be used for anything else other than providing services for which it was built in the first place. If that ever happens, it would be a scandal.

I take the Minister of State's word that we can move quickly but we now have a Christmas break. When we return after Christmas, whether she is in the same role, which we will not get into, and regardless of who is in that position, I want to see a proper respite service in place for those families that is convenient for them, works for them and that they are satisfied with. There is huge dissatisfaction and despair among all those parents I have spoken to and engaged with over the past couple of years. There is a major problem here. It is so easy to fix it and yet there is this hesitancy to fix it.

We sometimes ask why people in senior positions in the HSE and other places do not do their jobs. Sometimes I think what needs to happen is people need to be given their P45s and told to get out the door if they do not do their jobs. If the State is sued, loses and has to take that cost, it is a hit the State should take because the next person who gets that job will do his or her job, as that individual will know there are consequences for not doing it. That is what it is down to. There are people in this State in senior positions who, for some reason or other, will not do what they are paid to do. In this case, these people are paid to provide services for people with disabilities and they should bloody well do it.

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