Disability Issues Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-10 ============================================================ Sarah O'Reilly (AON), Agricultural Panel I am really disappointed that the Minister of State could not stay for my Commencement matter because it is connected to his Department. When will a new adult day services day centre for County Monaghan be developed? Has a location for the site been selected? Can the Minister responsible for disability provide a timeline for works to be completed? There has been a lot of confusion on this over the past few years. I am working with a group called Special Needs Active Parents, SNAP, in County Monaghan that is trying to improve facilities and services for children with special needs and to improve services for children after they leave school. We want a bit of clarity. We get several minutes in this House for a debate on a topic, which I appreciate, but I want to know what stage the Department of disability is at with progressing an adult day centre for County Monaghan? I have been working with my colleague in Monaghan, Olivia Larkin, on this and with the SNAP organisation's Paddy McAloon and the rest of the parents in that group. They have raised a number of issues related to the lack of disability services in County Cavan, but particularly in County Monaghan, which is more poorly serviced. There is a lack of respite services, special education places and a need to increase respite provision. We have been told that a site has been selected for an adult day services centre, but the information has been sparse on where the site is and when it will be completed. The issue here is that families and their loved ones need to plan. Continuity and consistency for children with special needs is really important. The daily activation unit in Rooskey is fantastic but we need a building that can deliver more space and cater for different age groups and school leavers in particular. Originally, it was supposed to be a building at St. Louis convent in Monaghan and then an old fire station. In 2024, a submission for the unit to be based in St. Davnet's campus was completed and approved by the HSE for capital and by the property steering committee. We need a decision, action on the site and a timeline for opening. I ask the Minister of State to clarify those questions for me. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-10/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:36+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-10