Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This year the Government provided an extra €10 million for respite services. That sum provides for the opening of 12 new respite houses around the country, one in each region. Most are open, including the one in Sligo, but I acknowledge that the one in Donegal is not open but it will be opened in January. Initially, it will be a five-day service but it can be expanded to a seven-day service subject to the availability of staff for the weekends, as well as funding for the service.

I am told a particular issue arose in Donegal during the year when one teenager with very complex needs required a bespoke package of care, which necessitated access to three separate respite facilities on a rotational basis. The outcome of that was that respite services for Donegal were only operating at 50% capacity throughout much of the year. However, from January 2020 this service user will have their own residential placement appropriate to them and therefore it is anticipated that services for children will return to full capacity once the placement commences.

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