Parents of children with special needs in Monaghan have found a property, which, they say is ideal for their requirements. Monaghan remains one of the few counties in Ireland that does not have adult day services, a children's respite facility or a dedicated special needs school of its own.
The campaign to have these services delivered progressed last week with the announcement from Disabilities Minister in Monaghan that the county would get a new building for children's respite. However, there remains a cohort of teenagers and young adults with special needs who will have nowhere to go once their time at the Holy Family School in Cavan comes to an end at the age of 18.
But, now, parents have come up with a solution by way of a dis-used partially-built nursing home in Cootehill, which comes with over six acres of land, en-suite bedrooms and dayrooms and is on the market for sale. Paddy McAloon is father to two boys with additional needs and is a member of the Special Needs Active Parents (SNAP) support and campaign group.
He told Northern Sound he wants all local politicians and members of the public to come to a meeting they are holding in the Four Seasons Hotel in Monaghan Town this Friday at 7:30pm to discuss the potential and opportunity this find holds for hundreds of local children and their families. "We will have plans, we will have pictures posted up so they can see what they're dealing with. We will have the owners there, the architects and the builder," Mr McAloon explained to Northern Sound, "The front row of that meeting will be reserved for Heather Humphreys, Niamh Smyth, Brendan Smith and Matt Carthy and whatever politicians can make it there. I would urge them to be there and if they can't be there to send representation. There's room on this site and it's all laid outand everybody is willing and ready to make it happen. The only one element we're missing is the money."
