Almost 100pc of staff at Longford disability service back industrial action amid vow it ‘will not close’

They were the ringing words of endorsement used by local politicians today (Tuesday) less than 24 hours after 134 staff out of a total of 136 voted in favour of the move.

Fine Gael Senator Micheál Carrigy said while fears surrounding the present viability of the intellectual disabilities provider were disconcerting, those reservations would not result in its closure.

“There is no long term doubt over the future of St Christopher’s,” he said, as for the second time in a matter of days he refused to express confidence in its senior management.

“I am 100pc certain of that and I know there will be a commitment from government and the Department officials that funding will be put in place, but concerns have been highlighted and we don’t want a situation where staff have to take industrial action and ultimately we don’t want service users losing the service or having a diminished service.”

Mr Carrigy’s comments come after the Irish Independent revealed how staff were on the brink of taking industrial action concerning the non-payment of increments.

The Fine Gael senator said a large portion of his own disquiet first emerged just over five weeks ago in a commencement matter in the Seanad which revealed the Battery Road facility was facing a €2.4m cash deficit this year.

The response, which was delivered by Minister of State Niall Collins, revealed how a consultancy report commissioned by the HSE “identified weaknesses in internal financial controls and information deficits.”

That prompted Mr Carrigy to seek out a meeting with board of St Christopher’s, advances he maintains that have yet to be approved.

The organisation’s chief executive, Derek Scanlon countered those claims, saying that while a full meeting with the board remained outstanding, he had held lengthy talks with Mr Carrigy in recent weeks.

“I met with Micheál for an hour and a half three weeks ago,” he said.

“He has requested a meeting with the board and the board haven’t facilitated that yet because they have been dealing with the ongoing ability to be able to run the organisation.”

Mr Scanlon, who as revealed by the Irish Independent yesterday, stepped down from the board of St Christopher’s CLG last week, remained steadfast in his belief over the service’s future sustainability.

“There is definitely no danger (of closure) and the HSE in engagement over the last seven months particularly have reiterated continuously their commitment to the service and that’s obvious by additional funding that has been provided over the current year and I am confident based on the interactions we have had that that will continue into the future,” he said.

Mr Scanlon also said the results of the ballot, with 98pc of staff being in favour of industrial action was not overly surprising given the nature of the pay dispute.

That said, Mr Scanlon expressed confidence the row could be settled around the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) table, a forum the service has previously relied upon.

“We will be hoping to engage with staff and unions and re-enter the WRC process,” he said. “Hopefully the HSE will help and assist us in that process because at the end of the day until we get funding to be able to make those annual incremental jumps, we won’t be able to make progress.

“I am confident in that when we went into the WRC process in 2021, we had a positive outcome from it and I am confident we can do that again and achieve a positive outcome for our staff.

“There is a cost of living crisis and people need the annual increases they are expecting in their salary and this is something that affects the lower paid staff and it can’t be allowed to continue.”

As efforts now switch toward trying to thrash out a solution to the crisis, Fine Gael Cllr Peggy Nolan said she remained fully behind staff, service users and their families in tackling the service’s current issues.

“The results of the ballot just shows the absolute concern that’s there,” she said.

“St Christopher’s is an institution that is about caring and decency and it is absolutely about putting front and centre people in our community that have special needs,” she said.

Asked is she had confidence in senior management, Cllr Nolan gave an unequivocal reply before reiterating her faith in an organisation that is six decades in existence.

“Absolutely not,” she said, when replying to whether she had confidence in the organisation’s senior management.

“For the past two years I have been calling for an AGM which used to be a social event in Longford and when it did come around every parish that had a committee that fundraised for St Christopher’s gave their financial report and it was something that was so special.

“But I would also like to raise a flag on behalf of the staff members and say no matter what happens if we were to block the Battery Road for the next six months, St Christopher’s will not close.”