Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the House for allowing me the opportunity to raise this issue. The Crann project in Ballincollig in County Cork is a fantastic innovation that has been developed over the last number of years. The board of directors and the team there have developed fantastic facilities for people with disabilities, therapeutic facilities for rehabilitation and indeed play therapy. They are also providing innovative training centres for different challenges that people with disabilities have, whether they are disabilities that are acquired or those that are there from birth. They have developed this facility. Padraig Mallon heads up the team there. He is a fantastic innovator and an extremely capable guy. The foundation of it was due to Kate Jarvey who is a philanthropist and has done great work in providing the centre with the resources to get it up and running.

It has been up and running and, of course, the services have been provided. In essence, the services, which should be provided by the State, are being provided there on behalf of the State. Regarding the core funding, there has been very innovative meetings between the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and other politicians as well. They have been in awe at what has been delivered and developed at the Crann Centre in Ballincollig.

I have to raise the issue about core funding because essentially if this centre does not get €1.2 million in annual core funding to deliver the services it is providing, it will not be able to operate because it will go into a deficit situation. The centre is raising money, looking at fundraising and is reaching into other pots of money that are available to it. That should not be the case because it is the State's services the centre is providing. It has continence training and is one of the only places outside of Dublin that is doing this. This is for SNAs or people who are working in all types of settings in the State. The issue here is that core funding has been agreed to a certain level but the unmistakable fact is that there is €1.2 million needed in core funding annually to ensure the Crann Centre can operate and can provide the services it is currently providing. If there is any dilution of that, there will be tapering back of the service the centre is providing. The playground there is second to none for kids and young people with disabilities. The centre developed that itself. The staff have developed things in very innovative ways. They think outside the box. They look at the challenges there. If we were depending on the State to have these innovative services, it would not be happening.

We are almost on the brink of the second half of 2024 and we are still negotiating for the budget for 2024. The year 2024 starts on 1 January not on 1 July and it is reprehensible that the HSE does not have the budget ironed out at this stage. The fundamental point is that the basic funding that is needed to run the Crann Centre and to provide the services it is providing currently is €1.2 million and that is what I asking the HSE and the Minister of State about today.

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