An organisation which is campaigning against budgetary cuts to the Brothers of Charity services is calling on the Government to guarantee families that essential services already cut will be reinstated and that frontline services will not be curtailed.
The Hope4Disability group which represents parents, carers and service users says despite assurances families are still worried.
The Brothers of Charity was told by the HSE in March that its budget was being slashed by €2.5m. However it learned two weeks ago that an extra €2m in cuts will be expected from the organisation on top of the earlier figure. There were proposals to close a number of community homes in Galway and reduce respite services as part of the restructuring of services. Some 600 adults and 500 children avail of these services in the city and county.
However, following a meeting with Government ministers and the HSE last week the Brothers of Charity said it was optimistic that there would be no further cuts to its budget in 2010.
But the chairperson of Hope4Disability, Eamon Walsh, says there is still uncertainty for the families of the 1,100 service users.
“After a week that saw people with intellectual disabilities and their families take to the streets to protest against cuts to essential frontline services, confusion and uncertainty reign as to what the Government and the HSE have committed to.
“The Taoiseach, Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney and the Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, John Moloney all stated that frontline services, in particular respite, would not be cut as a result of the budgetary cuts that have been imposed on the service providers in the sector.
“They failed, however, to deal with the existing cuts to services that have seen respite centres close, community homes consolidated (people forced to move from their home to more crowded accommodation ) and day services curtailed. Furthermore, they failed to give any assurance for the future of services when families have already been informed that services are to be seriously cut back or closed by the end of this year. People with intellectual disabilities and their families are still extremely concerned and scared for the future.”
Some families are struggling to cope with the existing withdrawal of supports, particularly respite care, he says.
“We are calling on ministers Harney and Moloney to issue a clear guarantee to families that the HSE will ensure that essential services already cut will be reinstated and that there will be no curtailment or cutting back of frontline services.
“We are further calling on the Taoiseach, the ministers concerned and the HSE to ensure that people with disabilities and their families are not penalised through withdrawal or reduction in services in the drive for ‘efficiencies’ in the delivery of services, services that are hugely supplemented already by families, carers and a large body of people who give there time for free as volunteers, none of which is ‘costed’ or recognised by the HSE or the Department of Health and Children.”
