Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)

I raise the ongoing issue of the absence of a community worker for MS services in counties Sligo and Leitrim. The north west has the highest instance of MS in the country, but alarmingly there is no dedicated MS community worker in Sligo or Leitrim. They are the only counties that do not have a dedicated community worker. MS Ireland put together a business proposal and submitted it to the Department of Health. It is looking to be treated like everywhere else in the country. There are 19 community workers employed throughout the country. They play a vital role for anyone who has MS. It is a condition that affects people differently.

The community worker is there to offer case management, support to families and to act as an advocate to look at finance and training. They are a voice for people who have been diagnosed with MS. There were a lot of Government TDs and local representatives from across parties and none at the business proposal meeting. They listened to stories from Sligo and Leitrim people with MS who do not have access to the services that we should have access to. MS Ireland put forward a business case and it is looking for just short of €73,000 to employ a community worker, which in the grand scheme of things is a drop in the ocean.

Some 300 people have been diagnosed with MS in Sligo and Leitrim. There should two community workers. I worked as a community worker with the Irish Wheelchair Association. Trying to manage a caseload of 300 people would be astronomical. I would put forward the case that there should be two. I ask the Minister to look favourably on this. We have continued on in the north west. There is a wonderful MS therapy centre. They have to raise €100,000 a year to keep it operating and it has been such a support for people living with MS and their families. The idea of having a community worker has been overlooked because the centre has been such a success in the north west.

I am going to quote Mary who was at the meeting I mentioned:

When I was diagnosed with MS in 2006, there was no dedicated community worker in Sligo. Almost two decades later the situation remains unchanged. Upon diagnosis I was provided with medication options by her urologist and left to navigate the rest on my own. The MS nurse gave her advice on how to take the medication but beyond that there was no structured support. I had no access to information on how to connect with other people living with MS, no guidance on what her future could look like if I had to stop working and no knowledge of the financial supports available. There was direction on how to access homecare should I require it nor any mention of MS Ireland or the resources they offer.

Sláintecare contains a dedicated commitment to an integrated approach to healthcare. If a community worker was employed, €73,000 is a drop in the ocean in the context of the Department of Health's spending budget. It would support social workers' case management and the management team in the support services sector around MS. I would like the Minister of State to reply that the people living with MS in the north west are not going to be treated like second-class citizens anymore.