Speech by the Taoiseach, Mr. Brian Cowen, T.D., at the opening of Riverview Resources Service, Birr, on Monday, 28 June, 2010 at 11.00am
Is mór an áthas dom a bheith i bhur dteannta ar maidin chun an Acmhainn nua iontach seo a thugann tacaíocht chuimsitheach do dhaoine le mí-chumas intleachta a oscailt go hoifigiúil. Is clochmhíle suntasach í i stair na seirbhíse féin; clochmhíle a thugann seans dom an dul chun cinn atá a dhéanamh agaibh a fheiceáil agus mo bhuíochas a ghabháil libh as an sár-obair a rinneadh anseo le deich mbliana chun feabhas a chur ar saol na ndaoine a bhaineann úsáid as.
It is a great pleasure to be here this morning to open Riverview Resources Service. This is a very welcome opportunity to see at first hand the great strides that are being made to improve the lives and opportunities of people with an intellectual disability in Offaly and North Tipperary.
Riverview Resources has been up and running in the community for 10 years and has become well known locally for the quality of its handmade Celtic slates.
Today, on this special milestone in the history of the service, I would like to pay tribute to all of the staff who have worked so hard to provide a service of this calibre - developing people's strengths, skills and independence through social and leisure opportunities, further education and local employment. I would also like to pay tribute to the HSE and St. Anne's Service for their very effective teamwork in revamping and developing this building.
One of the real strengths of Riverview Resources is that you work closely with families, local agencies, the HSE and employers to optimise opportunities in the area. You have even established close links with the Tidy Towns committee, Church working group, St Vincent De Paul and Active Retirement groups. I want to commend you for this partnership approach.
The Government believes that partnership is the key to dealing with the wide range of health care issues that are emerging and which place new and different demands on health service providers.
We fully recognise the valuable contribution of the Daughters of Charity Services in the provision of services for people with intellectual disabilities and I want to take the opportunity today to thank them for this.
We are, of course, very much aware of the challenges service providers are experiencing in 2010. In this context, it is vital that all providers work creatively and cooperatively to ensure the maximum level of services are maintained for service users within the funding resources available. Almost €1 billion is provided each year to voluntary providers of disability services and it is important that we ensure that services are being provided in the most efficient and effective way possible.
At the same time, we must, of course, always keep in mind our overall objective of a person-centred, approach to delivering disability services and improving the lives of people affected by disability.
Conclusion
Thank you for inviting me here today and for making me feel welcome - as you do to all your visitors and friends. I would like to wish you all every success for the future.
Thank you.
ENDS.