Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I thank her sincerely for taking time out of her busy schedule to be here this afternoon. The topic I wish to discuss with the Minister of State is one she and I have discussed numerous times, which is the chronic lack of respite services for children with disabilities in County Monaghan. As the Minister of State knows, parents are at their wits' end. They are exhausted and at the end of their tethers looking after and caring for their loved ones, which they will do as long they are fit to do it. The lack of availability of respite services is hurting those people. The lack of services in County Monaghan has existed for many years, long before the Minister of State took up office. I would like to put on the record my sincere thanks to the Minister of State because every time I mentioned this subject to her, she had a listening ear and attempted on every occasion to try to find a solution. I know she has been working on one. For any child with a disability in County Monaghan, there is no respite service available. The only option is to go to County Cavan to try to find respite services there. If the service was available in County Cavan, that would be fine and we could live with that. Unfortunately, the respite service for children with disabilities in County Cavan is only available every other week. I understand from recent figures that approximately 33 children with disabilities have received respite services in County Cavan. They could do with many more hours but they are not available. Currently, 57 people are on a waiting list for respite hours which unfortunately are not available. It is estimated that many more are looking for that service but do not even come forward because they know the service is simply not available. It indicates that there is a serious problem that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. We need to address the chronic shortage and, concurrently, find a solution and a service in County Monaghan for those children and families who so richly deserve it. I know the Minister of State met those families and she knows what they are going through daily. God knows they need a break. I would like to get an update on the work which I know the Minister of State has been doing behind the scenes. I know she met the HSE and the families because I also attended those meetings. Will the Minister of State provide an update on that situation? I hope she will have some positive news for those families to latch onto.