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Dáil
‹ Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation

Cavan wheelchair service

Summary

Deputy Tully says the Irish Wheelchair Association service in Cavan has been cut to outreach only because of staffing and pay-parity problems. The Taoiseach says he will ask the Minister for Health to reply directly.

I raise the current situation in regard to the Irish Wheelchair Association service in Cavan. As of this week, the service has been reduced to an outreach-only model, similar to what was offered during the Covid period. This decision, which is based on the lack of staff, was made in conjunction with the HSE. Service users are devastated. The service was already severely reduced but now it is down to zero. The existing staff are fantastic but it is impossible to recruit and retain people, mainly due to the pay parity situation that still has not been addressed since last October. A 25-year-old service user, Caitlin, who has epilepsy and cerebral palsy, among other conditions, was promised 26 hours of provision. She was getting a number of hours on three days of the week, which she loved. Now she is getting zero provision. A Zoom service is no good to her because she is non-verbal. Can something be done to address this situation as quickly as possible?

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Simon Harris The Taoiseach Fine Gael

I thank the Deputy for bringing to my attention the situation with the Irish Wheelchair Association service in Cavan and the impact, which she outlined very clearly, on service users. I will ask the Minister for Health to revert to her directly on this issue.

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