Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank her for taking time out of her busy schedule to attend this morning. I will discuss the important issue of the suspension of much needed respite services at Annalee View respite centre in Cootehill, County Cavan. As I am sure the Minister of State can imagine, this is causing great hardship to the many families in counties Cavan and Monaghan who depend greatly on this service.

This issue demonstrates the clear lack of respite services to cater for families in need in counties Monaghan and Cavan. I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, who attended a meeting with the families arranged by my colleague, Deputy Brendan Smith. I sincerely hope that something positive comes out of that meeting. I also recognise and commend the families of the individuals affected by the suspension. They have organised into a lobbying group to try to address this issue. I understand the Annalee View facility is out of bounds for families and has been for a number of months. As a result, they have not been given any facility to allow respite for themselves or the loved ones for whom they care. As I said, this issue shines a light on the chronic lack of respite services. It also highlights the need for a separate respite facility for children in order that we would have a designated centre for adults and another for children.

Family carers, adults and child dependants depend greatly on and look forward to the all too short break they get in respite facilities. Unfortunately, they have not been able to get a break for some time. One family member told me that the family had been waiting for two and a half years to get into the system. Given the high care needs of some of the individuals in question, it is disappointing to learn that it takes so long for them to enter the system. I am sure the Minister of State will agree that is simply not good enough. I understand a number of buildings are lying idle on the St. Davnet's complex in Monaghan town. The option of using these buildings to provide a temporary or even a more long-term solution to the immediate problem should be explored.

These hardworking, decent people in the Cavan and Monaghan area who provide much love, care and attention on a 24-7 basis deserve much better. The least we can do is provide them with a basic respite service whenever it is needed. I urge the Minister of State to ask the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, to treat this issue as a matter of urgency because the individuals in question need a break. I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, will find a solution to this problem as soon as possible.