Tipp welcomes funding for cancer care
Nenagh mum’s praise for care daughter received
The Government has announced €7.5 million in funding for the construction of a new Daisy Lodge therapeutic short break centre for children across the island of Ireland diagnosed with cancer and their families, to be built in Cong, Co Mayo.
The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has announced that he will allocate €5million in capital funding from the Department of Health. This will be combined with €2.5m in Shared Island funding also announced.
The charity’s second therapeutic centre will welcome families from both Ireland and Northern Ireland for free short breaks. Children with cancer will be referred to Daisy Lodge in Mayo by Cancer Fund for Children’s team of Cancer Support Specialists working across the island and in some of the hospitals in both jurisdictions. Their existing centre in County Down can facilitate 1,800 family members per year, and a second Daisy Lodge will increase this number to 4,000 per year.
Speaking about the €5m allocation, the Minister for Health said: “I’m delighted that we are able to support Cancer Fund for Children with this funding for a second Daisy Lodge, which will establish a vital service based in the West of Ireland for children with cancer and their families to have an amazing experience, to relax and enjoy time together with their families and with other children who are going through a similar experience.”
Cancer Fund for Children CEO, Phil Alexander, added: “The allocation of this funding serves as a resounding endorsement from the Department of Health, Taoiseach Office, and the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP). Most importantly, this funding will ensure that children diagnosed with cancer throughout Ireland will have the opportunity to benefit from therapeutic short breaks at Daisy Lodge in Co Mayo in the coming years.”
NENAGH MUM
Sinead O’Brien from Nenagh, whose family were supported by Cancer Fund for Children when her daughter Penny was diagnosed with bone cancer, commented: “It’s amazing to hear that the Government has approved such an incredible amount of funding in support of Daisy Lodge in Cong, Co Mayo. In 2020, my daughter Penny was diagnosed with cancer and was in treatment until March 2021. We were supported by Cancer Fund for Children and enjoyed a short break at their Daisy Lodge in Newcastle, Co Down.
“Our visit to Daisy Lodge was the first time the five of us had been together as a family in 10 months and we left this incredible space with a spring in our step. Our therapeutic short break gave us time back. We went to the beach, did yoga, and took part in arts and crafts, which was just gorgeous. We weren’t a cancer family when we were there. We felt normal at Daisy Lodge.
“Another therapeutic short break centre in Co Mayo will make an enormous difference to families like ours and this unbelievable funding is such an important step in making this a reality.”
Daisy Lodge in Co Mayo will be a 30,000 sq foot non-clinical short break centre for children diagnosed with cancer and their families and will complement the existing service Cancer Fund for Children provide at Daisy Lodge, in Newcastle, Co Down. Construction on the new facility is due to commence in January 2024.