For Immediate Release
Elaine Mullally Calls for Immediate Action to Support Sensational Kids and Families in Laois

Laois Independent Candidate Highlights Urgent Need for Investment in Services for Children with Additional Needs

Co. Laois – Tuesday, 19th November 2024

Elaine Mullally, Independent candidate for Laois, has expressed her deep frustration and anger at the government’s failure to provide adequate funding for Sensational Kids, a vital charity supporting children with additional needs. The organisation’s decision to halt construction on its National Child Development Centre in Kildare Town, due to the withholding of promised funds, has sent shockwaves through the community.

While based in Kildare, Sensational Kids provides life-changing therapies to countless families in Laois who rely on its services to support children with autism, developmental delays, ADHD, and other needs. The abrupt cessation of construction leaves families across the region facing uncertainty and longer waiting lists.

“We are seeing cuts to essential supports when what we need is unprecedented investment,”said Mullally. “This centre was set to be a beacon of hope for families not just in Kildare but in Laois and beyond. The government’s decision to withhold promised funds is nothing short of devastating.”

Sensational Kids’ half-built National Child Development Centre, which was designed to offer 13,000 therapy sessions annually, now sits idle. The Department of Justice has refused to release €4.8 million in already-approved funding through the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP), citing a €4 million shortfall for the facility’s fit-out.

“This decision leaves a shell of a building—a monument to government inaction—while thousands of children sit on waiting lists,” Mullally continued. “In Laois alone, families are already struggling to access basic services for their children. Cutting back on funding like this is a betrayal of those who need help the most.”

Mullally highlighted the broader implications of this funding crisis for Laois families:

• Many Laois children are among the 2,000 on Sensational Kids’ waiting lists.
• Over 90% of these children are also stuck on lengthy HSE waiting lists for therapies.
• The lack of action will deepen the current national backlog of 110,000 children awaiting developmental supports.

“This isn’t just about a building in Kildare,” Mullally emphasised. “It’s about children here in Laois waiting months or even years for services that could change their lives. We cannot let bureaucracy rob these families of hope.”

Mullally called on all political leaders, including those in Laois, to rally behind Sensational Kids and demand that the Department of Justice release the promised funding without further delay.

“This is why we need more Independents in Dáil Éireann,” she said. “Independent representatives are not bound by party politics and can fight for what really matters—our children. I will not stop pushing for better resources, services, and supports for families in Laois.”

Elaine Mullally continues to urge local voters to demand accountability and action from the government to ensure no child is left behind.