REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO THE AISLING CENTRE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO THE AISLING CENTRE FOR PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES
Thank you all for the very warm welcome this afternoon and for this opportunity to visit the beautiful Aisling Centre. My very warm thanks to James Whelan, Chairperson of Parents and Friends of the Aisling Centre for the kind invitation.
The welcome given to me is the very same welcome that makes Aisling House such a wonderful caring, warm and friendly place to live and to work. For the twenty-two residents this place is a happy home. To those who love them it is absolutely vital that this is a place of happiness and contentment, a place of fulfilment and love. The creation and sustaining of that atmosphere rests largely with a remarkable group of highly committed and dedicated professionals and care staff. They provide the best of services and social activities for residents – but it’s not simply what you do that is most striking, as important, is how you do it, how you educate, how you entertain, how you motivate, how you care.
There is a spirit and a value system which infuses what you do with a clear message about why you do what you do, about your belief in the sacredness of each human being, about the utter dignity each is entitled to and your determination to show those things in action. It is that wonderful culture of caring which transforms the Aisling Centre from mere bricks and mortar into a home. On behalf of the people you care for so well, their families and the rest of us who appreciate what you do but seldom express it – I say thank you.
People with learning disabilities face many difficult challenges. Life can sometimes seem a constant and unrelenting struggle and parents, families and friends and carers share in that struggle. Can I look after that special person at home, if not where will they go, will they be cared for, who will look after them when I’m gone. These are dilemmas that many people face and puts in context the importance, the vital importance of what you do here at the Aisling Centre, and do so well.
I have a particular and personal interest in the challenges faced by persons with special needs and since becoming President over 4 years ago now, I have taken the opportunity to visit many of the wonderful organisations who provide support for this very important group in our society. On each of these visits, and my visit here today is no exception, I have been struck by that well of dedication, commitment and caring that is so generously, so selflessly drawn from, day in and day out. We in Ireland are known as a caring people, generous givers of money, time and skill. Many support organisations such as the ‘Parents and Friends of the Aisling Centre’ work quietly away in the background providing an essential support system, their work more often than not done without a lot of thanks or recognition but then it is not done for either thanks or recognition. Yet both are due and I thank all those involved for the huge contribution they make to enhancing the quality of Irish life for so many of our dearest citizens.
It is reassuring to see how much progress has been made in the care and treatment of people with learning disabilities over recent years. The emphasis has shifted from a culture of complete dependence to one of effectively supported independence. No-one could say that the activities provided for residents here aren’t interesting or don’t lead to living full lives - bowling, horse riding, swimming and trips to cafes, hotels and parks. They also enjoy reflexology days, aromatherapy days and music therapy days. And that’s not to mention holidays in Ballyraine in May and September. Is there any room for me?
What you have all helped Irish society to understand is that men and women, boys and girls with disabilities have the same needs and fundamental rights as any other group in our society. The right to participate fully in the life of their communities, to develop their own talents, to put their abilities to work for themselves and others, these are essential hallmarks of an inclusive society and we have an ambition to be an inclusive society. Each and every one of us possesses our own special God given talents. What makes a life happy is the discovery of those talents, watching them blossom. They are our biggest natural resource and if they are wasted, the individual is destined to live a lost tragic life and society generally is destined to be diminished by the waste of talents which could have been used to build us all up.
The Aisling Centre is about making sure those individual talents are carefully nurtured and that as those who live here grow more resilient, we as a society also grow more in wisdom and in strength. This place is a fine example of what can be achieved through partnership – a partnership between the South Western Area Health Board, the Parents and Friends of the Aisling Centre, and most importantly, the residents themselves. With every day that goes by you the Aisling Centre gathers more and more memories, more and more insight. Already your many achievements give you good reason to be proud and the future is a place worth looking forward to from here.
I congratulate you all for what you have achieved, individually and as part of the Aisling team. Your work is important to all of us for these are the lives of our brothers and sisters. How they live tells us a lot about ourselves. I wish you well with this important work in the future and to all who live, work, or support Aisling in one way or another I hope the future will be even better.
Go raibh maith agaibh.