Protracted delays in delivery of Carrickmacross Group home are unacceptable – Matt Carthy MEP

‘The campaign for the Group Home for persons with Physical and Sensory difficulties in Carrickmacross has been ongoing since 2004.  The delays that the families involved have encountered at every stage are an indictment of the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments have been in place throughout that time.  To have the facility built and for it to lie unused, for nearly three years, is absolutely scandalous!’

So said Carrickmacross based MEP Matt Carthy this week as he confirmed that he has again written directly to the Minister for Heath Simon Harris TD calling for his personal intervention to ensure that the facility to be opened as a matter of urgency.

Carthy, who was speaking after RTÉ Primetime exposed the disgraceful situation last week, said: ‘The parents and siblings of those residents who will benefit from the Group Home have campaigned for 15 years to get this resource to Carrickmacross and now, even though the building is complete for almost three years, have been told that funding has not still been allocated for the management of the service.

He continued:

‘I have written on several occasions to the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, urging him to directly intervene to get this building operational.  Like previous Ministers for Health and Housing, from both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, over the past decade and half, he has chosen to delegate the issue to the HSE and his junior.  They are clearly not up to the job and therefore it is imperative that political leadership is provided.  It is the responsibility of the Minister to provide the required funding to open this facility as soon as possible and to ensure that the HSE has the management structure in place so that this facility can be opened straight away.

‘This has been a long campaign and one in which I have spent a significant amount of time on; while a member of Monaghan County Council I raised the matter on a monthly basis.  Since I became an MEP I have continued to work with the families and local Sinn Féin Councillors to keep pressure on Ministers and statutory agencies.  This is a project that I feel extremely strongly about because I know the benefits it will bring, not only for the service users but for their families as well.’

He concluded:

‘We know that when this building is finally open that we will see Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael politicians jumping to get into the pictures.  They should start jumping now and tell the Minister for Health, who is in government because of their support, stop the delays and get this building open immediately!’

ENDS