Families across the South East are being left without access to basic neurorehabilitation care due to continued Government failure to fund the specialist community team promised for the region.
A new report launched this week by the Neurological Alliance of Ireland shows that 37% of patients in the South East have never had access to neurorehabilitation services. The organisation’s survey, The Right Care in the Right Place, highlights just how many people are being discharged from hospital without a care pathway, proper supports, or follow-up.
In response, Waterford TD Conor D. McGuinness has called on the Government to fund the South East neurorehabilitation team in the upcoming Budget, warning that years of delay are causing real and lasting harm to families.
“Behind every one of these statistics is a family doing their best to care for a loved one after a life-changing injury or illness,” he said.
“One Waterford mother told me her child was simply discharged and left to figure it all out on her own. No rehab team and little in the way of support. Just stress, confusion, and years of fighting for the basics. That’s the reality of this failure.”
A dedicated community neurorehabilitation team for the South East was first committed to in 2019 under the National Neurorehabilitation Strategy. It was reaffirmed in the current Programme for Government and included in the Action Plan for Disability Services, with a 2026 deadline for full delivery across the country.
Despite these repeated commitments, the South East remains without its team. Other regions have seen progress — while patients in Waterford, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny and Tipperary are left behind.
“This isn’t a new or unexpected ask. The strategy is written. The model is agreed. What’s missing is the political will — and the funding,” said McGuinness.
“The Government must include funding in Budget 2026 for the rollout of the South East neurorehabilitation team. Families have waited long enough.”
Conor D. McGuinness TD 