In what may be one of her final duties as Minister for Disability, Senator Anne Rabbitte, turned the sod of a new residential unit and two modular units at Ability West at her home base in Portumna.

The turning of the sod last week marks the start of the works at the site, located on Shannon Road in Portumna. The Minister was joined by members of the Ability West Senior Management Team.

The residential development, which will be a five-bed house, will cost around €1.1 million to build.

This commences alongside the installation of two new modular units to support a number of people with disabilities attending Ability West’s School Leavers programme, which will cost over €300,000, funding for which was secured by Minister Rabbitte in recent months.

Minister Rabbitte said she was delighted to see ‘the continued development of Ability West’s services in Portumna’.

“This new residential service will be the ‘forever home’ for several service users,” she said.

“A lot of time and energy has gone into ensuring this project got off the ground and that the funding was secured, which I’m pleased to have assisted with.

“Praise is due to the various stakeholders involved, including Ability West themselves, Galway County Council and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

“Ability West are a long-established service provider in Galway and I’ve seen in my role as Minister for Disability that it is an organisation that is known and well respected across the country for the work it has done over the decades.

“Investment like this ensures that families across the county know Ability West will continue to deliver quality care and support in the years ahead, while also planning for the expansion of services to cater for the growing demand.

“Only recently, I confirmed funding of €100,000 for the Ability West ‘Best Buddies’ programme, which is a wonderful, volunteer led initiative that facilitates and supports inclusive communities and meaningful friendships for people with intellectual disabilities.

“This is on top of the recent funding provided to purchase a new wheelchair accessible mini-bus for service users accessing St. Dympna’s Day Service in Portumna.

“As Minister for Disability, I’ve ensured that funding is provided from my disability budget to support best practice, and this has been demonstrated by Ability West’s plans for supporting people with disabilities in the locality,” concluded Minister Rabbitte.

Pictured: Minister Ann Rabbitte turning the sod on the new facility at Ability West in Portumna, with Julie Silke Daly, Fionnuala Douglas, Paula Tuohy, John McHugo, Sean Page, Emma Sweeney and Peter Burke.