Reilly intervention to sanction Clarecastle daycentre funding

The provision of funding worth €190,000 for a dementia unit in the Clarecastle and District Daycentre was sanctioned after the intervention of Health Minister James Reilly, despite opposition from the Health Service Executive.
In March, uncertainty surrounding the future of dementia-specific daycare facilities in the centre was removed following confirmation of additional HSE funding worth in the region of €190,000 over the next five years.
An extra €35,000 was provided to Clarecastle Day Centre in 2013 and this will be allocated to costs associated with daycare dementia services. This funding will be guaranteed from 2014 to 2017, after which it will become part of the core funding to the centre.
However, it has now emerged that it took the support of Dr Reilly to ensure this funding was granted.
Deputy Joe Carey has lobbied successive governments for funding for this development, including Dr Reilly, which the minister acknowledged when he officially unveiled the new dementia unit last month.
In a statement to The Clare Champion, the Mid-West HSE pointed out the authority is the principal source of revenue funding to the voluntary organisation, which has for many years provided daycare services to older people within a 10-mile radius of Clarecastle. 
“This generic day centre is viewed by the HSE to be an excellent service operated to very high standards; funding in 2012 amounted to €370,000.  
“As part of the 2013 service planning process, the HSE Mid-West management met with the board of Clarecastle Day Services, who outlined the pressures they faced in 2013. 
“The board were also seeking an additional €100,000 per annum to fund a dementia service; while this funding was not allocated, the Mid-West HSE was able to provide additional support, which amounted to €35,000 per year to help maintain essential frontline services for older people in the Clarecastle area and a one-off payment of €15,000 to upgrade cooking facilities at the centre,” a HSE spokeswoman explained.
In an email to the HSE’s regional director of operations, John Hennessy, in May 2012, Dr Reilly’s personal assistant stated, “The minister has taken a firm view on this issue in Clarecastle and it is his wish that the centre be designated as a centre for the provision of care for mild/moderate dementia.”
Mr Leary said he wanted funding to be discussed for 2013 for a phased opening of the unit and stated the facility should be used as soon as possible.
In his response, Mr Hennessy referred to previous and subsequent discussions and stressed he was concerned there was appropriate information available to the minister before he made any final decision.
Mr Hennessy then sent a briefing from senior area manager PCCC, Bernard Gloster, which noted, “The proposed day centre for dementia in Clarecastle is the subject of debate and negotiation over a number of years, including managers prior to my dealing with same.
“It has at all times been the position of the HSE that this service is already provided in Ennis under Service Level Agreement with the Alzheimers Society of Ireland.
“Previous attempts to merge the two interest groups have failed. The provision of a second service in such close proximity will essentially involve two organisations receiving two sets of funding to one population – with deficits in other sectors,” he explained.
While Mr Gloster acknowledged the proposal had merit, he felt it wouldn’t constitute a high priority in this part of the Mid-West or Clare.
Deputy Carey said words such as “dormant” and “lying idle” were used by local media to describe the status of the facility constructed since the middle of the last decade.
“The decision then to fund the centre was based on merit, community need and community ability to provide and manage a vital local service,” he said.
Having resolved before the last General Election to continue seeking a solution to the funding issues at Clarecastle, he said he made no apologies for “delivering on my pre-election promises”.
He told The Clare Champion he would like to see the Clarecastle centre replicated and rolled out nationally.