Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will start by paying homage to the activists in my county of Wexford. This is a team of mothers, fathers, and families of children with disabilities called FUSS - families unite for services and support - who are fighting to reform disability services. They have stood up and protested to make their voices heard. I salute their resolve and I stand with them. They are truly an amazing group of people who, every hour and every day of the lives, must fight for basic services for their children.

There are some 500,000 family carers in Ireland. They save the State millions of euro every year. Shamefully, they do not have adequate support or, in most cases, any respite at all. Their income is deeply inadequate and their role needs to be more clearly understood, recognised, and supported. The round-the-clock 24-7 nature of being a carer must be recognised. As a result of this, respite needs to be tailored to meet the needs of the family as one size does not fit all. Alternative respite provision is needed in a variety of settings and for a variety of lengths of time depending on the individual needs of the service user and the family or carer - for example, within home, home to home, family support, Saturday clubs, breakaway schemes and summer schemes.

This motion rightly states that carers have provided increased levels of care, with less support and respite during the Covid-19 pandemic. The impact of this on carers' well-being, their mental health, and the siblings mental health must be acknowledged, not by words but by deeds.

Despite home care being the preferred option for most people, there is no statutory right to home care in Ireland. We have an ageing population and by 2040 almost one quarter of our population will be over the age of 65. This means that demand for home care will increase dramatically. The waiting list figures for home support services in County Wexford were so dire that a review had to be conducted recently. The main finding of that review was that the fundamental issue was staffing. This is a huge worry for the more than 600 families who are waiting for those vital services. Family Carers Ireland in County Wexford do their utmost to fill the gap but they too are struggling with severe demand and inadequate resources. For example, they have 30 hours per week to offer the whole county. The issue of recruitment and retention of staff is most evident in day and overnight respite services. A centre in Wexford was recently told by HIQA that it did not have adequate staffing and so must offer reduced services.

I put it to the Minister of State that questions must be asked about why this is the case. There are reasons people are not going to work in this sector. There are also reasons they are leaving the sector in their droves. We need to get to grips with those issues and tackle them head on.

The motion before us today highlights some of the key areas of concern around respite services. I thank the Deputies wholeheartedly, and particularly Deputy Connolly, for bringing the motion forward. I hope that all Members will see the merits in the wording of this motion and will fully support it.

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