I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this important matter and the Minister of State for his presence in the House to respond positively, I hope.
Donegal, with a population of almost 130,000 people, urgently requires a hospice centre. The Donegal Hospice Movement was established in March 1988 by a small group of committed and dedicated people. The first home care sister commenced working in January 1989. There are now four home care sisters working throughout County Donegal, providing palliative care for patients whose disease is non-responsive to curative treatment. Control of pain, other symptoms and physical, social and spiritual problems is paramount. The goal of palliative care is the achievement of the best possible quality of life for patients and their families. No patient is charged for hospice service. The provision of this service, Hospice At Home, enables patients to remain at home longer. The cost of home care service in Donegal is raised voluntarily and in excess of £666,000 has been collected and spent from 1992 to date.
The North Western Health Board provides £20,000 per annum from lottery funding, which is forwarded to the Foyle Hospice in Derry to help defray the cost of the salary of home care sisters who cover the Inishowen area. In addition, Donegal Hospice pays Foyle Hospice £15,000 per annum as a retainer so that Donegal patients can get a bed in the Foyle Hospice when required.
In view of the very high number of people requiring hospice care, it was decided in December 1997 that Donegal Hospice Limited should build a hospice in Letterkenny for the people of Donegal. Over the past two years, many meetings have taken place with the North Western Health Board, which is providing a site at Knocknamona, Letterkenny, free of charge. Many plans were drawn up before the final plans were agreed and launched in April 1999. At that time the building cost was estimated at £980,000 so it was hoped the overall cost would be £1.3 million. However, in October 1999 the quantity surveyor provided a revised costing of £1.3 million so the Hospice Movement expected the project could be finalised for a total of £1.5 million.
Tenders were forwarded to five building contractors who expressed an interest in the project. The tender approved by the hospice directors was for £1.404 million, which is a further £300,000 higher than the estimated figure which the quantity surveyor had outlined in October 1999 and it is envisaged at this stage that work on the project will commence in August of this year.
At this point, the hospice building fund has at its disposal £1.05 million. The breakdown of the figure is a contribution from the Government millennium fund of £100,000; North Western Health Board, £300,000 and Donegal Hospice, £650,000. The VAT outlined in the approved tender amounts to £157,847 which will go to the Department of Finance, thus the millennium grant of £100,000 is more than eroded. The balance of the VAT will have to be raised from the voluntary contributions of the people of Donegal. To finish the project it is envisaged the hospice directors will have to borrow at least between £700,000 and £800,000 unless further funding can be obtained from the Government through the national lottery or from some other source. Donegal Hospice has raised £650,000 to date and continues to fund raise. This is in addition in having to raise funds for the homecare service which has been provided in the county for the past 11 years. All members of the committee of Donegal Hospice are giving their time free of charge and in many cases at great financial cost to themselves.
To defer this project is not an option as building costs continue to escalate, so the building project must now proceed without further delay. I am asking the Minister to favourably consider the application for national lottery funding submitted last February by the Donegal Hospice Committee. They have already shown their dedication and commitment to the project. A similar response from the Government is absolutely necessary to bring this much needed project to completion.
Finally, it should not have been necessary for me to raise the lack of funding for the Donegal Hospice. The funding should have already been delivered by the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Deputy McDaid, who sits beside the Minister for Health and Children at the Cabinet table and who is a founder member and a director of Donegal Hospice. As a director and a doctor he is aware of all the needs and facts as I have outlined them. Deputy McDaid is doing a good job in his official capacity as Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation. He must now use his influence with his ministerial colleague and deliver this much needed and indeed overdue facility for County Donegal.
