TÁNAISTE EAMON Gilmore accused fellow Dún Laoghaire TD Richard Boyd Barrett of playing politics with a cutback in respite facilities at a centre in the constituency.

Mr Gilmore said Mr Boyd Barrett should encourage the parents affected to meet the centre’s management.

“That is a more productive way of solving what is a real problem than coming in here and seeking to make a political football out of it.”

The People Before Profit TD said 16 parents who had children with severe intellectual disabilities had come into his clinic on Monday looking for help.

He noted that some of the parents were in the public gallery.

“They have found out in the past few weeks that respite services provided in Dunmore House, part of Carmona Services, are being slashed.

“What was previously a 24-7 respite service is proposed to be watered down to a fraction of the service that it was previously.”

Mr Boyd Barrett said that one mother, who had an allocation of two days a week and one weekend per month of respite, would now only have one day a month and one weekend every two months.

Another mother had told him that if the cuts went ahead she would have to cancel an important medical procedure next week as she would have nobody to mind her child on the day of her appointment.

Mr Gilmore said the facility was very well run. All agencies, including St John of God’s, which ran Carmona, had been asked to look at efficiencies in running the services.

The management had found that the service was operating at full capacity between Monday and Thursday.

“Therefore it was decided that the service would open until 6.30pm from Monday to Thursday and 24 hours from Friday to Sunday, and that it would still respond to emergencies.”

Mr Gilmore said a management offer of a meeting with the parents affected had not been taken up to date. That meeting should proceed.

Mr Boyd Barrett said the parents were quite willing to meet management.

Mr Gilmore said he had a copy of an email sent by “one of those associated with Deputy Boyd Barrett” on the matter.

It had referred to the “opportunity to add further adverse publicity upon James Reilly and Eamon Gilmore’s lack of a suitable response”.

Mr Boyd Barrett said the email had nothing to do with him.