Remarks on the occasion of the Opening of the Respite Care Centre
Boyle Co. Roscommon
A Chathaoirligh agus a cháirde uile.
It is a particularly happy occasion for me as President, to open this magnificent Respite Centre in Boyle and to join in your celebrations. I want to thank you for the kind invitation, particularly on an occasion such as this, where the purpose of your coming together is to rejoice in reaching another milestone in the provision of top rate facilities for our children and young adults with special needs.
Of course County Roscommon is a place dear to my own heart. Its the county of my own roots and Boyle is a place I visit regularly and feel at home in. Boyle itself has its own historical traditions and we can only marvel at the genius of our ancestors whose skill and dedication established a community here with a sense of togetherness and co-operation all those centuries ago. It is very evident that this ethos of caring and commitment has continued right up to the present day and is something you can all be very proud of.
Today marks a very special moment in the development of that caring and teaching tradition when you open this purpose built Respite Centre under the aegis of The Brothers of Charity. This new centre, built on a green field site with a commanding view of the Roscommon countryside, must be the envy of other communities. I want to congratulate all those of you who have been involved in the planning and implementation of this project. The Brothers of Charity and the various voluntary agencies and friends are due special thanks for bringing the project to a successful conclusion. The architect May O'Carroll and the builder Micheal Finnerann combined skilful design and expert workmanship to produce this masterpiece. Present and future families of Roscommon will benefit a great deal from these facilities.
The Brothers of Charity was founded almost 200 years ago in Belgium and their particular mission in Ireland is to provide care for people with a learning disability. In Roscommon, there are few families which have not in some way witnessed the skills and dedication that is their hallmark. The Brothers provide a comprehensive range of services including medical, psychological, speech and language counselling and physiotherapy in conjunction with other agencies such as The Department of Education and Science, The Department of Health, The Western Health Board and The Roscommon Association for Mentally Handicapped.
One quotation from their own literature reads: "The Brothers of Charity services seeks to provide an environment in which the dignity of people in its care is recognized and respected". How apt that objective is. How much better would the whole of Ireland be if we could only, in our hearts and in our actions, recognise and respect the dignity of our neighbours and our fellow human beings?
This is but the latest of the many facilities that the Brothers of Charity have provided all over Roscommon, from Castlerea to Roscommon Town, Ballinameen to Strokestown. Not content with that, their extraordinary range of caring services includes summer camps, a countrywide school service and in-home relief provision. The people of Roscommon have good reason to be proud of the Brothers of Charity - and they in turn have every right to take pride in the exceptional way that they are delivering each day on their mission of respecting the dignity of all those they care for.
Now in Boyle, you have this new facility, the purpose of which is to give children and adults a break, to provide for them a 'Home from Home'. Here, the service users are trained in social and coping skills and they are encouraged to become as independent as their ability allows. Social interaction, outings, boat trips, shopping, picnics and sports helps to stimulate their natural enthusiasm and energy and bring even more joy into their lives and those of their extended families. This facility will give the families and carers a much-needed break, a chance to recharge their batteries, while knowing their loved ones are being well cared for - indeed that they are having the time of their lives. It is equally important that it provides those being cared for with a break from normal routine, a chance to make new friends, share stories and experiences and come away with a rich and happy store of shared memories.
A building, no matter how comfortable, is only a building unless it is staffed by caring personnel such as you have here. This Respite Centre is served by a committed and dedicated staff who give of their time and love and energy way beyond the call of duty. Their reward is seeing the happiness and progress of all those who use the facilities and whose talents blossom under their care.
I must comment on the remarkable partnership that has developed between the Brothers of Charity and The Roscommon Association for the Mentally Handicapped. There is an innate generosity in the Irish psyche, none more so than here in Roscommon, where disability is concerned. The dedication of those men and women who constitute the Roscommon Association is phenomenal and for their support, both financially and otherwise, we are deeply grateful. Without this motivation, many facilities such as this one might not be a reality and many families and individuals would be very much the poorer for it.
In more recent years parents are playing a much greater role in the education process at all levels. The Brothers of Charity, however, always involved parents, friends and families in facilitating the whole development of young and adult service users. They recognised many years ago that education must have a holistic approach, dealing with all aspects of the individual. They say that what is engraved in childhood is engraved on stone. The Brothers of Charity know how important it is to enable each person, according to his or her ability, to live a full life as a child so that he/she may go on to live a full and useful life as an adult within our community. It is my hope that all these young people and adults who avail of your services both here and in other settings will find an opportunity to live life to the full with all the vitality and enthusiasm that is part and parcel of living. These premises will undoubtedly afford many opportunities of working and playing together, of learning from one another, of supporting one another and of being sensitive to the needs of others.
I want to congratulate you all on this tremendous achievement and, at a time when everyone seems to be rushing, the fact that you have time for others.
May your good efforts, that yielded such success so far, yield even greater fruits in the years ahead.
Cuireann sé an áthas ormsa bheith anseo in bhur measc inniu.
Míle buíochas.