Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is a project that if the likes of it were in Dundalk or Drogheda, whereby a property was made available to the local authority, I have no doubt the Cathaoirleach Gníomhnach would stay hot on my heels until it was operationalised. It is one of those project that needs to be operationalised now. There is no point in having a building left vacant. It is now a building that will pass over to Cork City Council. There are very good people working in Cork City Council who need to prioritise this because, at the end of the day, Jon, Karen and her entire team, who are amazing, are working out of the hall at Mahon. The wonderful hall committee at Mahon has allowed that, but every day the team puts out the gear to do occupational therapy and training and have to put it away again every evening. All the kids are in Portakabins. There is a beautiful building with a park behind it. The land that comes with it is a natural environment, especially for the older children who are transitioning. It is the most sensory-based space one could imagine and there is ample parking. Children would have the opportunity to be within nature. We always talk about sensory gardens and sensory needs. This is the perfect site for that.

I will commit to funding. This is my own funding and, as I said previously, if this building could pass over there would be funding to make it happen from a capital perspective. I will absolutely honour my agreement on that but I need Cork City Council to act expeditiously so that the HSE can come on board. The HSE has been wonderful in working with the Rainbow Club, shown by the fact there is a service level agreement supporting 1,200 children on a weekly basis. We recognise that if it were not for the Rainbow Club, services would be very depleted in Cork.

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