Kildare charity finds a lifeline in search for €4m

THERE is some light on the horizon for the stalled Kildare-based social enterprise ‘Sensational Kids’ as CEO Karen Leigh confirmed a meeting with the Department of Justice tomorrow (18 December).

It comes in good time, after the half-built child development centre in Kildare town had to tell their builder last week to suspend work, de-fence the site, and remove all their equipment, scaffolding pre-fab offices, and disconnect the power and water to the location.

As was reported three weeks ago, the Department of Justice decided to withhold €4.8m from a now defunct fund – the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) – to complete the clinic for paediatric therapies, and did so just weeks before the already ordered roof and windows were due to be installed.

The 1,579sqm (17,000sq ft) National Child Development Centre is under construction on Grey Abbey Road by Sensational Kids, a charity set up 16 years ago in Kildare Town Business Park by Newbridge native Karen Leigh after researching therapeutic aids for her son in the US.

Nearly nine out of 10 of children (87.3%) with additional needs from across the country who are in desperate need of therapy services are being forced to wait even longer for HSE support they need due to Government withholding funds promised for the build.

“The builders are fully demobilised from the site because we had no choice,” said Karen.

“We are invited to a meeting with the Department of Justice next Wednesday (18 December), but we’re still awaiting on a commitment from the Government to complete the fit-out,” she said.

“It’s basically one Government Department against the other [Health and Justice], and we’re caught in the middle of them,” she said.

Despite the political limbo the nation is in following the General Election, Karen has made overtures to all the local representatives, and hasn’t been disappointed so far.

“I have to say, our political representatives have been very supportive to get us open, but it’s a pity there’s no progress in spite of the political support,” she said.

The charity have set up a GoFundMe page which has raised €4,000 already, but with the exit of the builder and his indemnity cover, ‘Sensational Kids’ have had to come up with €13,000 to insure the site for the next year.

“We had to take responsibility for the site, and we took possession last Friday (6 December),” said Karen.

“Then storm came and we had to go back in on Saturday morning to build back the fencing ourselves,” she said.

“It just can’t be left the way it is, so we have to keep the pressure on,” she said.

Sensational Kids provide high-quality therapy services at significantly reduced costs, breaking down financial barriers so that children receive the support they need.

Therapies including occupational, speech and language, psychological assessments and play therapy can be life changing for children who are autistic, dyslexic, dyspraxic or have Downs syndrome, ADHD, sensory processing differences or developmental delays.

“The team at Sensational Kids is devastated and hugely frustrated to have been forced to stop the construction work of the new – and so badly needed - National Child Development Centre, leaving a half built site in Kildare Town,” said Karen.

“We are doing everything we can to resolve this situation but we need help and support.

“We will not give up on this project as our children depend on it."

When complete, the National Child Development Centre in Kildare Town aims to support over 300 children per week, providing 13,000 therapy sessions annually for children in need who are currently on lengthy waiting lists. 

The decision to halt the construction work of the 17,000 sq. foot site is due to withholding of investor approvals for funding already approved by the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) managed by the Department of Justice.