Sinn Féin delegation meets HSE to discuss respite services in Louth

Louth TD Gerry Adams, met with HSE Regional management recently, as part of a Sinn Féin delegation to discuss the ongoing crisis regarding  respite care for persons with disabilities in County Louth.

At the meeting, Deputy Adams along with his colleague Cllr Ruairí Ó Murchú, pressed the need for urgent respite services for those with high support needs, and clear lines of  communication with families following the recent announcement from government that funding was to be given to provide desperately needed respite services for people with disabilities in Louth.

In a press statement released by Gerry Adams’ office following the meeting, Deputy Adams had this to say:

“In December, Minister Finian Mc Grath announced in the Dáil that an additional €10 million was being provided to tackle the crisis in respite care. He announced that a portion of this funding was earmarked for Louth. This news was welcomed by carers who are under enormous stress, many of whom have had no respite in months.

“I have been working consistently on this serious issue for some time, as have other Louth Oireachtas members. However, despite the government announcement, and my own efforts in the Dáil to determine when these new respite services will be available, families in Louth are still living in crisis.

“My colleague Cllr Ruairí Ó Murchú and I outlined to the HSE regional management, the need to provide clear and concise information on the progress of the new respite services to Louth families. We also discussed the need for future planning for this region to ensure that the needs of people with disabilities are being met and their full potential realised.

“The meeting with the HSE was very useful and we intend to meet again for further updates on the new respite services. Sinn Féin will continue to press the government to support these families in Louth, and provide people with disabilities  with the full range of services they need and to which they are entitled.”