Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The HSE informs me that planning permission has been submitted to Leitrim County Council for the development of a residential respite service in south Leitrim. It is a five-bed house that, if it works seven over seven, will add a capacity of approximately 1,800 bed nights into the system. That is very welcome and badly needed.

Additionally, HSE disability services are currently working closely with the property management section of HSE estates north west in order to identify additional suitable premises in the south Leitrim area, which can be used as long-term residential accommodation for individuals with disabilities.

The residential needs of people with disabilities in the south Leitrim area are managed through the disability services application management tool. This helps to inform national HSE of current and future residential and housing needs in the area. All south Leitrim service people with disabilities with identified residential service needs, current and future, are on the DSMAT and they and their families were supported by CHO 1 disability services to submit their applications to Leitrim County Council so that their housing needs are included on its housing list.

The CHO 1 disability services community team engages with the housing officer in Leitrim County Council on a quarterly basis in respect of the housing needs of people with disabilities. Where any housing development for people with disabilities is planned by a county council, the HSE will work with the council and an approved housing body to progress the development.

In the interim, an additional residential respite service has been procured via service arrangement and additional overnight respite is being provided in the Tullaghan respite service in Leitrim. I seem to recall from the time, and the Deputy might correct me, that that possibly was not the proper solution for all. Transport was an issue and I had asked the HSE to ensure that transport and accommodation would be facilitated.

HSE disability services, as well as managing its own directly delivered residential services, which includes allocations of vacant places as and when they arise, also engages with a number of organisations through service arrangements to deliver residential placements and will continue to do so as required.

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