Dáil debates

Tuesday, 15 November 2016

Mental Health Services Funding: Motion [Private Members]

 

10:25 pm

Photo of Mary ButlerMary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mental health services for people with intellectual disability should be provided by a specialist mental health of intellectual disability, MHID, team. Three hundred posts for adult MHID were recommended in A Vision for Change. However, only 17.5 consultants are in post, which equates to 6% of recommended staffing levels. I accept difficulties in recruitment have meant that numbers of recruited staff are significantly lower than recommended.

Yesterday, I visited Carriglea Cairde Services outside Dungarvan in County Waterford. This facility has both residential and day-care patients with intellectual disabilities. They accommodate 170 patients. Of these 70 are day-care attendees and are so well looked after and were so happy and involved in so many activities. They were swimming, singing, involved in artwork and colouring. They did not realise I was visiting that day. There was no plan and I was pleasantly surprised. I was delighted to see these attendees being so well looked after.

However, at 4 o'clock in the evening, these attendees leave. Thirty-six of them are now living in communities. They are living well in their communities. I note many people feel that they cannot be decongregated back into the communities but in this instance, 36 of them are and it is working well. The younger patients seem to adapt much easier than much older patients.

The rest of the 70, that is, 34, went back to their families. These families care for their loved ones from 4 p.m., with many of them not getting much sleep. The families are the full-time carers at the weekend when the fantastic services in Carriglea are not available. These families receive two weeks respite per year, two weeks when they can avail of a holiday, take a break, sleep, catch up on household jobs or simply relax. These two weeks are a lifeline for families and carers.

The Minister of State should consider the difference an extra week of respite would make to these families. Eventually, a full four weeks in a calendar year would make all the difference. Many of these carers, parents and family members are ageing and they find it increasingly difficult to care for their loved ones. A week's respite per quarter would make life so much easier and it would also mean that people with intellectual disabilities could stay at home longer with the support of day-care services.

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