Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael)
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Today, I will speak again about the Phoenix Centre, which is located in what was the old Mount Carmel Hospital on the grounds of St. Joseph's Care Centre in Longford. The building was built in 1844. The rest of the buildings on the original site were demolished in the 1960s and a new purpose-built building, which is today called St. Joseph's Care Centre, was built. The building is being upgraded. The Phoenix Centre is located in the building and is the base for Disabled People of Longford, early intervention services and school-age teams. Basically all speech and language or occupational therapy and psychology services for people in Longford are based in this building and it is not for purpose.

I spoke on this matter in November 2021 when waiting lists for services numbered 600 children. Only recently, I met the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Rabbitte, at the centre. Over 700 children are now on waiting lists for services while over 200 children are waiting for assessments of need. There is only half a speech and language post, which is unacceptable for the people in my home county, particularly parents and families.

Staffing needs to be put in place. I am very confident following my meeting with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and HSE officials. A commitment was given that extra staff and resources would be put in place to deal with many of the issues.The reality is that it is on the second storey of a building that is 180 years old. It is not fit for purpose. There has been a lack of investment put into that building because of discussions to build a new purpose-built centre, or relocate to a new purpose-built Phoenix Centre, which is badly needed.

First of all, I want to put on the record that I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for coming, meeting with parents and finding out what the issues are on the ground with regard to services, etc. in the county. We also spoke on the lack of overnight respite for families and children in the county. There has not been respite in the county for nearly six years. I am very confident that we will make positive moves with regard to that and have something permanent put in place at some stage later on this year.

The people of Longford, the children and the families deserve a proper service for the children in our area. We need it to be located in a building that is fit for purpose. The reality is that this building is not fit for purpose. It is on the top of a hill and a person can hardly park their car when they go to it. It is not fit for purpose for anyone with any sort of a disability to access. I just want to get a commitment from the Department. There have been discussions going on for a long time on this. When will a building that is fit for purpose be put in place for Longford?

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I wish to thank the Senator for raising this important matter today. The Phoenix Centre in Longford is utilised for both adult and paediatric services, including a day respite service for adults aged 18 to 65 years; a children’s disability network team providing therapeutic family-centred clinical assessments and interventions for children with complex needs; and providing support to the carers, service providers and the local community with the emphasis on sharing resources, skills, knowledge and expertise.

The HSE has advised that community health organisation, CHO, 8 is developing plans to relocate certain services to Ballyminion, including the children’s disability network team. The HSE advises that work continues on progressing the proposed relocation, although it is not currently in a position to advise on a likely date for the relocation of the services. While awaiting this new accommodation, the Phoenix Centre has been made as suitable as possible to meet the demands of the services for children and adults with a disability in Longford, through a series of initiatives, such as the booking of all existing therapy space; the upgrading and reassignment of existing centre space, including the waiting areas to support the staff teams; and the booking of suitable external accommodation in order to provide for medium-to-large group or family training programmes. These initiatives are ongoing in line with health and safety policies and infection control guidelines. In addition, the HSE advise that analysis of all 12 networks in the CHO 8 region is ongoing to identify medium- to long-term options, which would provide a higher standard of accommodation for all network teams.

As I am sure the Senator is aware, capital spending in disability services in recent years has quite rightly focused on the continuation of the decongregation process leading to an unprecedented level of investment in disability services, with an investment of €100 million for new initiatives in 2021. The increased level of funding will enable the HSE to build on initiatives currently under way, including the decongregation programme, with a renewed focus on assisting people to move out of congregated settings to homes in the community. I am pleased to inform the Senator that CHO 8, in which Longford is located, received €10.4 million between 2016 and 2021 to fund decongregation projects. This level of funding was the second highest amount allocated to a CHO in that period. This spend resulted in 17 new decongregation units being completed in that time. This benefited 65 people moving from a congregated setting to independent living between 2018 and 2021 in the CHO 8 region, which is a significant achievement. I trust this clarifies the matters raised.

Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael)
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To be honest, this does not clarify the matter raised. It does not answer the question I asked. While I welcome the investment of €100 million for initiatives and I welcome the fact that there is significant funding into the CHO area, CHO 8 actually covers six counties - Longford, Westmeath, Laois, Offaly, Louth and Meath.

The reality is that we are providing the previously listed services in a building that was built in 1844 and is not fit for purpose. As I said, we have a serious need of extra services in our county, based on the list I was given of over 700 people and children waiting on various services. There are more than 200 children waiting on assessment of need.

As I said, we do not have a building that is fit for purpose. That is the question I wish to clarify. When will we in Longford get the proper building and facility that we need and deserve for the people of our county? To be quite honest, I would just like this to go back to the Department because this does not clarify what I have raised. I would ask it to clarify that for me and the people of Longford.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising the issue of the building not being fit for purpose. I will bring his concerns back to the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, Deputy Rabbitte. This Government will remain focused on providing the best services we can for children and adults with disabilities, whether it be therapeutic interventions, day services fit for the 21st century, independent living supports or respite or residential care, while keeping the health and well-being of people with disabilities as our utmost priority.

The Senator outlined that he needs a proper building and a facility. In one of my early statements, the vision for provision of disability services for people of all ages in the coming years was ambitious. In conclusion, I want to assure the House that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, remains fully committed to that objective. The Government has allocated additional funding for overdue assessments. Hopefully, I will bring the Senator's concerns to the Minister of State this afternoon.