ABILITY WEST OPENS NEW HEADFORD HUB
On Friday, February 14th, Ability West opened a new Hub in Headford. This temporary hub will serve the community while a new 3,500-square-foot facility is under construction. The need for services in Headford has grown significantly since Ability West first opened a hub there in September 2016. At that time, the original hub supported just two service users. Many of the individuals we support in Headford are from the surrounding Headford and Tuam areas. The new temporary Hub, which is located in the HCI Building on Main Street, will accommodate 16 service users and this new facility will drastically reduce travel time for families and persons supported and will allow for greater presence in their own community.
In 2024, a planning application was submitted to Galway County Council for a permanent building, with the project expected to be completed in 2027, subject to receiving planning approval. This new facility will provide a state-of-the-art space for the Headford community, located off Bridge Street in the town will provide a 3,500 square feet purpose-built facility which will provide accommodation for up to 25 service users as per the New Directions Guidelines. The facility will be built to cater for the current and future needs of the service users. The increase in demand in the Headford area is very evident. Within one year our service has grown from supporting just four service users to fourteen. The number of school leavers requiring day care services for intellectual disability is rising year on year. The prevalence of children being diagnosed with conditions on the autism spectrum is at an all-time high in Ireland. Hence, by the time our new service in Headford is ready for occupation it will be fully utilised. Ability West continues to work in partnership with the HSE to provide adequately resourced services in the Headford and Tuam areas.
Galway based Minister for Disability, Hildegarde Naughton TD, said “It was an absolute pleasure to join the Ability West team for the opening of their new hub in Headford. This hub will allow local people living with a disability to access services from within the heart of their own community. I have seen first-hand the impact that Ability West has made on the lives of people with a disability and their families, and it is clear that day services like those now provided in Headford will empower individuals not just to live independently but also to thrive in their local communities. The focus on personalised care and independence is a future we must continue to build, and I look forward to continue my work alongside Ability West in the months and years ahead.”
Julie Silke Daly, CEO of Ability West, in her address said, "This new hub marks the beginning of improved services for the Headford and Tuam areas, allowing us to accommodate up to sixteen service users in the day service. We are very grateful to Anne Rabbitte for her support in securing funding for the hub and also to Aoife O Donoghue and Mary O'Donnell from the HSE for their ongoing support of our organisation. Huge thanks are also due to John Sweeney of HCI for agreeing to sub-let the property to Ability West, and Johan Collins and his team at Castlelough Construction who have undertaken outstanding work in preparing the facility for the people we support and our staff."
Senator Anne Rabbitte, former Minister of State at the Department of Health and at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, attended the opening of the new facility. Senator Rabbitte has been key in securing funding for the new hub and is a long-standing stalwart supporter of Ability West. Senator Rabbitte said, “The opening of the new Ability West Hub in Headford is a remarkable milestone, offering a person-centred and community-focused space that empowers individuals with additional needs to thrive independently. It’s inspiring to see a hub dedicated to fostering independence, connection, and inclusion, ensuring that everyone can live with dignity and support in the heart of their own community”.
The staff team has grown from one staff member in 2016 to six staff currently. With the launch of the Ability West Regionalisation pilot in Tuam, individuals supported in Headford will now also have easier access to a range of multi-disciplinary services, including speech and language therapy, behavioural therapy, psychology, physiotherapy, and more.
