THE GOVERNMENT MUST address the suspension a number of staff at a care facility “as a matter of priority”, TD Colm Keaveney has said.
In this first statement as Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson on disabilities and mental health, Deputy Keaveney questioned how long the allegations into standards of care at Stewarts Care Ltd have been known to health authorities.
A number of staff at Stewarts Care in Palmerstown, Dublin, a facility which provides services for those with intellectual disabilities, have been suspended over allegations of abuse or neglect.
“Now more than ever it is extremely important that there is public confidence in [these] services,” Keaveney said.
300 people
The institution operates residential services for 300 people, and a number of day services for twice that number.
They describe themselves as working “with the most profoundly disabled people with whom other services cannot easily cope”.
It also offers a range of pre-school services children with “a developmental delay”.
Keaveney called on Minister Kathleen Lynch to address the issue, saying the “most robust monitoring and investigation” is required to deal with such allegations of abuse at these institutions.
The former Labour party chairman joined Fianna Fáil earlier this week following his departure from the Labour party last year.
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