Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We do have a very serious health crisis. It is a poison chalice to take on any Ministry relating to health. No one could stand up on the other side of the House and say that things are going well, because they are not. It is a disaster in every aspect of healthcare.

I call on the Minister of State to intervene in the case of some 13 service users in Carrigbeg, Bandon, County Cork, which is run by the Cope Foundation. These adults with special needs are accommodated in Carrigbeg house four nights a week. They now have to return home on a Friday evening until Monday evening as no weekend service is available to them. In some cases, elderly parents are finding it very challenging to care for these adults with special needs. It is totally unacceptable that this is foisted on them. A few of the residents in Carrigbeg have no family to care for them at weekends so they have to go to another Cope Foundation house every Friday until Monday. This is very distressing for these people to have to move out of their homes every weekend. Change and the lack of routine is especially upsetting for people with special needs. They are being forced to do this every weekend and this treatment is inhumane. The simple and obvious solution is for Carrigbeg house in Bandon to remain open seven days a week for these residents. It is their home. It is only right that they can stay there without having to leave every weekend.

I am aware that the business case has been with the HSE for a few years waiting for a decision to be made to open the centre on a full-time basis to accommodate the 13 people. Where are we at in that regard? I ask the Minister of State to intervene in the case immediately.

I could go on forever. There is also the mental health service in Bantry. After years of fighting for them, we are getting rehabilitation and endoscopy units in Bantry but it has taken so long. I have given every minute and every ounce of my being to get these matters resolved for the people of Bantry.

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