Money released for Children’s disability service providers in Donegal - finally

Donegal TD and Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Finance, Deputy Pearse Doherty, has said that money not released to successful applicants of the Children’s Disability Service Grant is fully to be made available and all groups will get what they were promised.

The funding was supposed to be released to successful applicants as emergency funding back in December 2023 – 20 months ago.

The four Donegal organisations have been awarded significant funding, with a combined total of over €3.6 million earmarked to improve services for children with disabilities in the region. Leading the list is the No Barriers Foundation in Letterkenny, which will receive €3,072,700 to deliver Ireland’s first neurological paediatric services scheme.

The Finn Valley Leisure Centre in Stranorlar has been allocated €34,000 to provide specialised swimming lessons tailored to children with conditions such as Down Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy and Spina Bifida.

Health Hub Professionals NI has been granted €302,001 to offer physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, and occupational hand therapy, including splinting services, for children across Donegal.

Meanwhile, Carndonagh-based Spraoi agus Spórt will receive €210,000 to expand its disability services, including adaptive sports, art and music therapy, sensory experiences, horse-riding, swimming and social clubs. The funding was announced by Minister Anne Rabbitte in June 2024 as part of a broader initiative to enhance community-based disability supports.

Teachta Doherty said: “It is easy to say that the government’s shambolic approach to providing funds through the Children’s Disability Services Grant has taken the good out of it.

“But, when thinking of the children who will finally benefit from the releasing of the €3.6 million to the four organisations in Donegal, this still must be considered a very good day. So many children had to go without key services.

“Through my own efforts and the efforts of Denise McGahern and her son Jack, we have ensured that money not released is fully to be made available and all group will get what they were promised.

“I’m absolutely delighted from a Donegal point of view and that there is another 48 organisations across the state that will benefit from this news today.

“And I am mindful that there are other organisations that should have got funding to support their services as well.

“But it is clearly not acceptable to have had to wait 20 months for this ‘emergency funding’ to be released. That has to be said.

“It’s not acceptable to announce funding two days before an election that there never was money made available for, making the mother of a child with Cerebral Palsy feel like her son had been used as a prop.

“Not acceptable, for the Tánaiste to tell me to my face that he was sorry and he would make amends only for successful applicants to be told that they needed to reapply for shortlisting, that the funding was no longer multiannual and that they were not guaranteed the money they were already publicly announced to have been awarded.

“When I raised this in the way that I did, with the support of Denise and Jack, did the government not – at some point in the last 20 months – recognise that they should release this money to help these children in desperate need of the services they were being denied?

READ NEXT: Two locations are holding retrofit training sessions across the county

“It was a farce, but I am relieved now that the government have finally decided to change their mind after my intervention on Thursday.

“Mindful of these previous false promises, I will continue to stay on top of this to ensure that every cent is made available to organisations as soon as possible."