Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Nothing in his speech suggested that he has been listening to the shock and disquiet of so many people, principally the service users and their families. There was nothing in his speech to give any comfort to those people. At Thursday's committee meeting, I called for a stay of execution on this decision.

I am always suspicious when I hear people mounting up the arguments for what they have already decided. We were told first that a capital investment of €1.1 million or more was required. The Minister of State told us that the HSE does not believe this capital investment is a good idea. In the same breath we were being told about moving to hotel facilities and positive and innovative approaches. When I put it to the IWA representatives last Thursday that this was implying there was something less than positive and innovative about Cuisle, they quickly pulled in their horns and were at pains to say they would like people to have whatever they want and for both choices to be available. If that is the case, let us not be talking up hotel facilities, which are a legitimate choice. However, let us not imply that Cuisle is at some disadvantage. It is a service that when one challenges IWA representatives, they dare not criticise.

Late in the day, we were told about possible further investment necessary because of asbestos fears. We are now being told about the decline in numbers. What seems to be happening here is that the service is being run down. The IWA seems to see this as a way of saving €100,000 a year because this is what it is costing it to keep this service going at a time when it is losing money.

We have called for a pause on this and the Minister of State has not addressed that. His speech does not reflect new facts that have become available in recent weeks. One principal new fact is that there is significant disquiet about this decision. Are the people who are upset about this decision wrong, misguided or misinformed?Are they wrong to prefer Cuisle to a hotel setting? Have they a legitimate argument about the choice that they want to make? If we are serious about putting people with disabilities to the forefront then we have to listen to them.

I have the greatest respect for the credentials of the Minister of State. He has them and deserves them but he needs to take action because something has happened under his watch that should not have happened. By that I mean the IWA has taken a decision that is deeply unpopular with its service users. For all of the good work done by the Minister of State this matter will be a blot on his political discussion if he does not say stop at this point and create breathing room that allows us to see what can be done to save Cuisle. Saving Cuisle is the only thing that people are interested in. It is no good the Minister of State coming in here, with the best will in the world, and saying that he will protect respite services. That is not what this debate is about here today. Cuisle needs a chance to survive. I am not an unrealistic person but when one thinks of all of the money the Government has spent on spindoctors, foreign travel and the Lord knows what then spending €1.1 million to put a building in order is a paltry sum of money. Even if the HSE is unwilling to come up with the funding it is within the power of the Government to say something should be done in this particular case. I have no problem with the Government saying we need the community to play ball with us or we need the private sector involved. If the Government would say it will put up half of this money, as an exceptional grant, to save this facility provided the money also came from the community then the proposal would show a real belief in the community and service users. Anything else would patronise them and say: "You might want it now but you will be happy later when you are in the hotels that you did not want to be in in some cases." I am not knocking the hotel facility or the general policy of moving away from congregated settings in healthcare.

Cuisle is a well loved place and a much valued facility that is in demand. The Government owes it to the service users, their families, the staff and all of those who volunteer or are paid to be involved in this vital caring service to step up to the plate in the way that the Divine Word Missionaries have done. The congregation has offered to give every single penny that it ever got in rent for the past 22 years or whatever of the lease towards a bailout plan that would get the capital works done. The offer by the congregation shows tremendous goodwill for which it deserves credit.

Today, I expected and hoped that the Minister of State would come in here and say the decision by the IWA was made in good faith but is wrong. I have met the IWA. I listened to what its representatives had to say in good faith and they made a good case. Having regard to what I now know about how the service users feel and having regard to the proceedings of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health, where we really exposed that people were trying to stack up a case one minute that there is a capital problem but the next minute that they are moving to better or more positive modern settings. That is spin. We know what the people want and they were out in force last Saturday. It is no shame on anybody to say that this particular decision must be revisited. I am not asking the Minister of State for a cast iron guarantee. I am asking him to say he will use his ministerial clout to ask for a stay of execution on this decision to see what can be done to save Cuisle now that we know there is huge demand for its retention from the most important people at the centre of this story. I ask the Minister of State, with sincere respect for his credentials, to recognise that something has changed here.

Senator Leyden talked about the forthcoming general election. That is true and it is a good time to extract promises. We should not have to wait until then because the retention of Cuisle is important for its own sake.