A SEVEN-BED group home for people with intellectual disabilities in Monaghan, officially opened in January 2008, is idle because there are no staff to work in it.
Brookvale House in Milltown was developed to provide sheltered housing for people with intellectual disabilities currently being housed in nursing homes and other unsuitable facilities.
The moderate-needs unit is fully fitted and ready for use and was officially opened by President Mary McAleese this time last year.
It cost €750,000 to build using grant aid from the Department of the Environment, the EU and funds raised locally. Fundraising was carried out by a number of local voluntary groups around Monaghan town and the development also received the support of Monaghan County Council.
Though the matter was raised in the Dáil last March and deputies were told discussions were under way to open the facility, the home has never been used because the Health Service Executive has not provided the funding to staff it.
A spokesman for the Monaghan branch of Parents and Friends of People with Intellectual Disability, who were involved in raising the funds, said yesterday it was ready for occupation from early 2007 and they were very disappointed it had not been opened.
It had been developed on the understanding that it was meeting a need and had the goodwill and support of the HSE, he said. “We’ve had a good few promises that didn’t materialise.”
Fine Gael TD Seymour Crawford said the HSE promised him in spring 2007, in advance of the general election, that the home would be open by September 2007.
And in January 2008, the HSE again committed to provide funding. “This is just another indication of mismanagement because at least some of the clients concerned are actually being facilitated in much-needed nursing home beds, which of course in reality are completely unsuitable for such purposes,” he said. He urged the HSE to provide funds for staffing as soon as possible or alternatively make it available for some other group to run.
A HSE spokeswoman said due to changing financial circumstances in 2008, “the operationalisation of this service was deferred”. “The HSE intends to move residents into Brookvale with the required staffing as soon as the necessary resources are available,” she said. “We are awaiting confirmation of our 2009 budget and are currently finalising the local service plan for 2009.”
She added that in 2008, residential placements had been developed for people with disabilities in the Monaghan area and continuous efforts were made to meet the individual needs of people with disabilities.
