We are working hard to address the many challenges the organisation faces as a result of the cuts to our core funding, the ongoing public service moratorium on staff recruitment and promotion, the recent staff redundancy and early retirement programme and the limited funding to develop additional day and residential services. Management and staff have been reviewing how all services are organised and delivered. The focus of the review is to identify how services can be delivered more efficiently and effectively while at the same time maintaining the level and quality of the service provided and to continue to respond to requests for emergency residential care and new referrals.

Since 2008, St. Michael’s House core funding has been cut by €8.7 million. As a result of the constraints imposed by the staffing moratorium, there are now 51 frontline vacancies and 24 administrative vacancies, which the organisation is not allowed to fill. In 2010, Michael’s House received funding to develop three emergency places, while the organisation had to respond to 12 service users in need of an emergency place. The HSE has yet to confirm our allocation of additional residential places for 2011.

Under the Croke Park Agreement St. Michael’s House has lodged an organisational-wide strategic Agreement that provides a road map for the implementation of the many changes identified in the review of services with the National Implementation Body. The agreement includes changes to how day, residential, respite clinical, transport and administration services are organised and delivered and will over its life-time enable the organisation to make sufficient savings to maintain services at the current level. St. Michael’s House is one of the first organisations in the Health Sector to lodge an agreement and I would like to thank and congratulate staff at every level for their commitment to making this possible

Patricia Doherty

CEO