A lot to discuss at Ability West AGM

Ability West’s Annual General Meeting was held on Tuesday 11 June 2023 at the Clybaun Hotel in Galway, at which the organisation shared its 2023 Annual Report and 2023 Financial Statements.

In 2023, the organization operated 28 residential homes, 27 day services and 6 respite services. The organization provided residential and day services to 493 people with BroadCast Unitedlectual disabilities and co-morbidities and was also supported by 45 shared housing families.

Provided over 10,000 nights of respite care for adults and over 2,000 nights of respite care for children.

However, 2023 is shaping up to be a challenging year for Ability West. Since the pandemic began, Ability West has experienced a constantly changing landscape. While the organization has been reasonably successful throughout the pandemic, some of last year’s issues remain as a COVID legacy.

Ability West, like many other sectors, has experienced severe staff reductions. There is also a pay equity issue, with staff employed by Section 39 organisations such as Ability West receiving significantly less than those employed by the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Section 38 organisations such as the Brothers of Charity.

This disparity led to the threat of a strike in October. Fortunately, the Industrial Relations Board and the union reached an agreement through wage negotiations, and Section 39 workers received a pay raise in three tranches across the country.

Due to the difficulty in recruiting permanent staff, the organisation has employed a large number of agency staff, which has proven to be very expensive. This has been detrimental to staff engagement and even the people supported by Ability West. The recruitment difficulties have also meant that the post of Head of Residence is currently vacant.

The lack of permanent staff was a factor in the organisation’s serious non-compliance during the 2023 HIQA inspection, which was very disappointing for the organisation.

To cope with this situation, the organization has developed an aggressive recruitment plan. Last fall, the organization had more than 80 open positions. This number has been decreasing month by month, and rising wages have also greatly helped the organization.

Disappointingly, the organisation posted a deficit of over €1m last year. However, there were mitigating factors such as the cost of agency staff premiums, difficulties recruiting permanent staff and a significant need for minor capital expenditure. This expenditure was necessary to transform several residential properties to bring them into compliance after HIQA inspections found them non-compliant.

Minister Anne Rabbitte was unable to attend the AGM in person, but in her video message she said: “It is a great pleasure to be attending the Ability West AGM again this year, albeit remotely. Ability West is a well-known organisation in Galway city with a reputation for providing high-quality care and support to people with disabilities for decades.

“After a difficult 18 months it’s great to see we have plans for the future which will be a huge relief to service users and families alike.

“I welcome the appointment of Julie Silke Daly as interim CEO and I think Julie has clearly played a positive role in bringing Ability West to a more stable position. I would also like to thank the Board, who I have met many times and who have invested a lot of time, energy and effort into the organisation and it has paid off. I look forward to continuing to work with Julie, the Board, service users and families over the coming years.”

In his opening remarks, Kevin Newell, Chairman of Ability West, thanked the Minister for her address to the AGM and for her continued support of Ability West.

Julie Silke Daly, who has been interim chief executive since early 2024, discussed the rise in HIQA inspection compliance – noting that compliance has now returned to 76 per cent.

At the meeting, Mrs Silke Daly said: “We are working with the HSE on a service improvement plan which is progressing well. While we recognise that the people we support have made great progress, there is still a lot of work to be done. We are currently developing a new strategy for Ability West which will focus on regionalising the team to better serve the people we support.”

She continued: “To achieve real change, we recognise that we need to work together and regularly engage with the people we support, our management and staff, and our families.”

A formal resolution was passed at the meeting to adopt new charters giving Ability West status as a housing agency.

Adam Harris, chief executive of autism charity AsIAm, was the guest speaker at the conference, which was attended by families, grantees, representatives of professional bodies and the HSE.