– Life along the Slaney

Cutting money and services from the most vulnerable in our society is anathema to most logical thinking people.

Why would you want to take away from those who already suffer the most in society? What good can come from taking away money for vital services provided to those with special needs and learning difficulties?

This is the situation facing St. Aidan’s Services means their hands are tied and no matter what they do, they will either lose money or have to cut services. The indication from the HSE is that they will cut the group’s budget again in 2011. If they follow the trend of the previous two years and increase the cut in the service’s budget, St. Aidan’s could be facing a shortfall of over €300,000.

The problem is St. Aidan’s have already cut everything they can. They have moved suppliers on numerous occasions to find the cheapest deals. They have made savings everywhere they can so as not to cut services.

The whole staff bore the brunt of the 5.75percent decrease in their budget last year taking a pay cut in line with all HSE staff – though they were not obliged to do so.

The staff has even given up one of their overnight rooms so that a service user would have a bedroom.

The dedication and sacrifice made by the staff of St. Aidan’s is something which cannot be quantified and if you spoke to the families of any of the service users they would speak of their gratitude and respect for what St. Aidan’s offers to those that use its services.

Despite all this the HSE have indicated further cuts are coming down the line. But with things already cut to the bone to facilitate the budget cuts of recent years, the management of St. Aidan’s is facing the reality of cutting some of the services they provide.

However it’s not that simple. The HSE pay St. Aidan’s based on the services they provide therefore if they are forced to cut some of the services they offer, the HSE will further cut their funding.

It is a vicious circle and the management in St. Aidan’s are at a loss as to where to go from here.

Among the most vital services offered by St. Aidan’s is training which includes computer skills, personal development, career planning and job seeking skills yet these courses could very well be in jeopardy.

The group are set to move to a fantastic new facility in Gorey Business Park yet there are some worries they will not be able to make the move if further funding cuts are made.

The upshot of all these funding cuts could result in services being cut. These services will however have to be provided in some way by the HSE and will cost a hell of a lot more money for them to operate than it does for St. Aidan’s to provide.

The HSE seem to be looking at the short term rather than seeing the bigger picture. Supporting the amazing work being done by St. Aidan’s now will surely save them a lot of time, effort and money in the long-term.

While the HSE continues to cut the money for services in St. Aidan’s the people of Gorey continue to bolster its finances through continuous fundraising in the area. Without this money the buses would stop running and the effects of the wholly unfair HSE cuts would be a lot more severe.

We all know that money is not readily available at the moment but such penny pinching seems to be striking at the most vulnerable in society and could leave the users and their families with nowhere to turn in the very near future.