Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We also need to avoid the situation that happens on occasion when an emergency case is going into the respite house and nobody else is actually allowed to use it, so they cancel at the last minute. I am also aware of certain cases, such as, for example, one woman who knows she has an operation coming up in March and who needs respite care for her son. However, because it is the children's week and he is an adult, she is being told there is no possibility. There are situations for which we need to find solutions now. I have written to Edel Quinn on this and have not heard back from her. It is something that needs to be resolved very quickly. Obviously, if there were two houses, it could be resolved very quickly indeed.

I will also point out that the need for respite has increased due to the lack of functionally of the children's disability network team, CDNTs. They are not functioning at all well. In County Cavan, for example, we are working at something like a 60% vacancy rate, so it is actually not working. It is not operating, and children are not getting services. I have contacted the teams. They say they are going to be in touch with families. They do not get in touch, or if they do, it is not to offer supports or services. Many families are getting to a crisis point now where they cannot cope and some have more than one child affected as well.

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