Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister will be familiar with this issue, which affects a number of organisations in Donegal. iCare, which is based on the Inishowen Peninsula and works with more than 100 families of children and young people with autism, provides an absolutely vital service not just for the Inishowen Peninsula but for the wider area of north Donegal.The Bluestack Special Needs Foundation based in Donegal town also provides a vital service to a large number of families in that area of south Donegal. They combined with the organisation Extern to apply for funding under the Ability programme last year. As the Minister of State will be aware, that programme has funding of €16 million and is co-financed by the Irish Government and the EU, delivering to 27 projects across the State. Major controversy arose last year when iCare, Bluestack Special Needs Foundation and Extern were refused funding. When we look at a map of the State, only one organisation north of the famous Galway to Dublin line, which was located in Roscommon, had received funding. Major controversy surrounded that because both iCare and the Bluestack Special Needs Foundation have existed for many years without any substantial State funding. iCare based in the Inishowen Peninsula, my home area, has been in existence for 18 years. It has raised a great deal of money. This organisation involves families who are taking care of their loved ones with intellectual special needs and trying to fundraise massive amounts of money every year. There was an intervention for both organisations last year, which I welcome. At last they got some funding. Both of them were on the verge of collapse, which would have been a disaster.

As we are now into 2019, we need confirmation, and I hope the Minister of State will provide it today, that there will be a service level agreement between both organisations and the HSE and fixed annual funding will be provided in order that they will know where they stand and that the families will know that they have a service and will not have to cope, from year to year, faced with massive demands of fundraising. Both organisations have achieved a great deal. They have great support in the community but, frankly, they have been taken for granted for far too long. If funding is not confirmed by the Minister of State today, urgent intervention is needed to secure that funding as soon as possible.

As we are now into 2019, we need confirmation - I hope the Minister of State will provide it today - that there will be a service level agreement between both organisations and the HSE and that there will be fixed annual funding in order that they will know where they stand and that the families will know they have a service and will not have to cope, from year to year, with facing massive demands in terms of fundraising. Both organisations have achieved a great deak They have great support in the community but they have been taken for granted for far too long. If such funding is not confirmed by the Minister of State today, there needs to be urgent intervention to seucre that funding as soon as possible.