Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I proposed on the Order of Business this morning that the Minister of State be invited in today to outline the Government's policy on the closure of Cuisle on this black Friday, with the loss of 45 staff, with facilities second to none for the thousands of wheelchair-bound and other active people who have facilitated and enjoyed their holidays. The Minister of State is certainly not giving any hope here today and is not even speaking on behalf of the people who use the service. The Irish Wheelchair Association did not consult the members and did not call a special AGM. It decided on its own grounds to close this facility. It announced it in early November and it is closing on Friday with the loss of 45 jobs and a facility that has been open for 22 years on the grounds of the Divine Word Missionaries in Donamon in Roscommon.

We had a special meeting last Thursday of the Oireachtas Committee on Health, which unanimously agreed, with all Oireachtas Members in attendance, to request the Irish Wheelchair Association to defer the decision until there was further consultation with the people the association purports to represent. There is a call for an EGM, which may be resisted by the Irish Wheelchair Association, but that is not democracy. Quite frankly, I believe the IWA is misleading the Minister of State, who has responsibility for disabilities and who is providing, through the Department and the HSE under a section 39 grant, up to €40 million a year to the Irish Wheelchair Association. Yet in turn, it announces this decision, which the Minister of State says was without consultation with him or without his approval. I find it outstandingly strange that the Minister of State would just go along with this, wash his hands of it like Pontius Pilate, and say that the Irish Wheelchair Association made the decision.

The IWA made the decision, I want to emphasise again, without consultation with its own membership throughout Ireland. If the association is so courageous now, let it have an EGM to get the views, and if the EGM decides on a certain strategy, that will be a matter for the paid-up members of the Irish Wheelchair Association, not for the executive of that organisation that did not consult. I can read out numerous representations. One of the most impressive was from a lady called Erica Boucher, who gave a speech at a meeting in The Square in Roscommon attended by between 1,500 and 2,000 people. She is very upset, as are her friends and family, that this decision has been made. There has been no consultation.The Minister of State should consult the people he represents in the disability sector because there has been no consultation.

We are asking for a delay to allow a re-evaluation of the facilities in Cuisle and to provide an opportunity to discuss with other interested parties their continued support for that facility in conjunction with the Irish Wheelchair Association. The Divine World Missionaries are prepared to extend the lease from 2026 for a period that is agreed with all parties concerned. It could be a very long extension. Any investment in the building may be for 20 years at least. The Minister of State visited the facility with my colleague, Deputy Eugene Murphy, some months ago. He praised the building and said it was a beautiful place. Although he was so impressed, he is not standing by Cuisle or the people he represents. He will not consult the membership of the IWA.

The Save Cuisle representatives who organised the rally last Saturday wish to meet the board of the IWA to discuss the issue. I suggest to the Minister of State that they meet as they are an interested party in this regard. I cannot see why they would not be agreeable to meet members of the board or the chief executive and the representatives of Oran, Dunamon, Kilbegnit, Castlecoote, Fuerty and Athleague who are so upset. This facility has been broadened out to host christenings, weddings and after-funeral events. That is all being provided in this special holiday centre. Some 45 special fishing stands have been erected at enormous cost. Up to €2 million has been invested since 1997. Seamus Thompson, the then chief executive of the IWA, initiated that programme which has proved so successful. It is so sad for the people affected by this, particularly the users and workers who provide 24-hour service in Cuisle.

I am delighted that the Minister of State came to the House, but I am not very happy with his speech. He should request the IWA to reconsider its decision and direct it not to close the facility in March 2020. The closure should be delayed for a period to allow for proper democratic consultation with the users of the Irish Wheelchair Association. The IWA should call an EGM and then make an assessment. The chief executive and board are afraid of their members. It is a very poor day when an organisation that purports to represent its members does not consult them in any way, good, bad or indifferent.

Irrespective of what the Minister of State thinks, this fight is not over yet. This will be a general election issue in the Roscommon-Galway constituency. For those who do not support it, I do not recommend that they face the electorate.