Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming before the House to discuss this matter. Áras Attracta is a residential respite day service for adults with intellectual disabilities in Mayo. The HSE directly manages Áras Attracta, which, as the Minister of State knows, works in partnership with other statutory and voluntary organisations to deliver intellectual disability services to the population of County Mayo. I will not go over the challenges that residents of Áras Attracta, their families and many of the staff have faced. I know there is a change plan in process. What I want to ascertain is the level of consultation that has taken place with residents, users of the day services and the families. I want to ensure that the services and supports that these users need are there now and guaranteed into the long term. I also want to ensure that the centre is kept within the remit of the HSE and that parts of it are not privatised out to organisations whose priority is profit maximisation. Furthermore, I want to ensure that the staff are protected within the system in order that their terms and conditions are also protected. As for the day users specifically, I want to ensure that the people and their families who have made life decisions to be near Áras Attracta - that is, buying their homes and settling there - will not now find that the service users will be moved to Ballina or other locations throughout the county. These are the assurances I seek from the Minister of State.