Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by Senator Warfield. Today, my thoughts and prayers are with the Gaeltacht community of west Donegal as they bury four of their young people. It is a desperate tragedy.

I wish to raise again a funding issue which I had not planned to raise. I refer to funding for the Inishowen Children's Autism Related Education, ICARE, organisation located in the Inishowen Peninsula and for the Bluestack Special Needs Foundation in south Donegal. Both organisations have not received State funding yet provide vital services to young people and children with disabilities in south Donegal and the Inishowen Peninsula.

Senators might recall a major controversy last year concerning the Ability programme which provided €16 million for disability organisations throughout this State. The programme was EU co-funded, yet when one looked at a map of the Twenty-six Counties, there was a line, which we call the Galway to Dublin line, above which it can clearly see that only one organisation, in Roscommon, received funding. In Donegal, ICARE and the Bluestack Special Needs Foundation came together, applied for funding with an organisation called Extern, but funding was refused. Both ICARE and the Bluestack Special Needs Foundation received some funding last year in response to the controversy. We had hoped that by now they would have a service level agreement with the HSE to have guaranteed funding so that families could have stability and knowledge that they would have supports. The families who are members of the committees of these organisations, many of whom have children and young people with disabilities, are trying to cope and fundraise constantly. We had hoped that by now they would no longer have to fundraise. Last week, we were assured that funding would be provided. In the past week I have tried to get a clarification from the HSE about whether it will be provided. As I stand here now, both of those organisations yet again do not have clarification.

Will the Leader contact the office of the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, who has responsibility for disability issues? He is very aware of these issues. I will, with the permission of the Cathaoirleach, table a Commencement matter next week if I do not get a clarification before then. We need clarification for these two organisations. ICARE has been in existence for 18 years and has funded itself by holding all sorts of fundraising events throughout the year, but it cannot keep doing so. ICARE provides a service. The HSE does not provide the service and refers children and young people to ICARE but then does not provide funding. That is outrageous and must stop. This has to be the last year that this goes on. I ask the Leader for his help and assistance with this issue.