Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh for sharing his time and welcome the Minister.

I visited Ballinasloe Therapeutic Learning Centre last Friday when I saw for myself the fantastic work being done in it. The organisation was established in 1983 and has been funded by the HSE but will now be funded by Tusla. It is a partnership project between Ballinasloe Social Services, a voluntary organisation, and the HSE. It provides a model of service for children which ensures difficulties identified at an early age can be managed.

There are two elements to what the child care manager at the centre is doing. She works for eight hours with the HSE speech and language therapy service in providing programmes in its dedicated child care facility for small groups of children who require extra intervention owing to a delay in development and disorders. She works for eight hours per week in individual interventions on a sessional basis for children and their parents referred by the HSE, family support workers, public health nurses, early intervention teams, hospital paediatricians and child and adolescent mental health services. Some 63 children are receiving a service at the centre.

I have received a formal submission from the centre. I know that the Minister has had very little time to look at this situation, but I hope that for the want of €9,500, we will be able to ensure that from September this service can continue, given the volumes of children who benefit from it, the fact that difficulties are being identified at an early stage and that the service is helping parents to come to terms with the difficulties experienced by their children. The centre is providing an invaluable service. I extend an invitation to the Minister to spend a few minutes in the facility in the near future to see what is being done in it. The lady who runs it is amazing and the facilities provided are fantastic. I cannot say enough in support of the centre and very much appreciate Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh's sharing of time with me to support this cause.