Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. This is the third time I have raised this on the Commencement and he has responded on two occasions.

In 2005, Tir na nOg opened with ten children to meet the demand for respite care in Carlow and the surrounding area. Eleven years later, 42 children were using the weekend respite service with a waiting list of more than 30 children. The centre was located in a house on a private estate in Carlow town, which was funded by the HSE. In December 2015, this facility closed because the house was too small. Prior to that, the doors had to be widened and a hoist installed but the house was still not big enough for what was needed. Given the new rules and regulations, HIQA came in and that was why it closed.

In March 2016, to fulfil the desperate need for a respite centre, an alternative day respite service was set up. On Friday, between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., children are picked up and brought to the Delta Centre. The core issue is no emergency or overnight respite service is available in Carlow or Kilkenny. Only ten children use the emergency facility established by the Minister of State. An overnight respite service is needed most. A total of 42 children were using the weekend respite service with a waiting list of more than 30 children and this continues to increase. Originally, a businessman from Carlow town donated a site to Tir na nOg. The centre set up a fundraising committee for a new building. A price of €350,000 was quoted at the time and we forwarded this to the Department. That is a not a significant amount to provide a service for the most vulnerable in our community but the new build did not happen. All we have now is the weekend service.

I brought this issue to the attention of the HSE south east through Councillor Arthur McDonald who words with me three times over the past six months. The centre has been closed for 14 months but we keep being told it was being looked at and that nothing had been signed. The Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, who replied on the last occasion I raised this matter, said the funding was in place but no lease had been signed. That is not acceptable. Yesterday in the House, I raised a recent survey on vacant properties in Carlow. The county has one of the highest vacancy rates in the country, along with Dublin, Galway and Waterford. The HSE says it cannot find a suitable vacant property in Carlow town. Officials are considering a property in Bagnelstown. They are saying they do not know if it is suitable and no lease has been signed. There has been no update. This is 14 months later and the overnight respite service remains closed.