Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Hearne for raising this important issue and for offering me the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, who is not here today.

Increasing the provision of disability residential services is a key priority for the Government and the HSE. All Deputies across the House will have specific cases relating to the many families who are finding challenges in this regard. There has been significant investment in residential services throughout the tenure of this Government. We are very aware of the need for increased service provision within the disability sector. In acknowledgement of this, the programme for Government commits to tackling waiting lists for specialist disability services by progressively implementing the action plan for disability services out to 2026 and resourcing and delivering on its targets.

In budget 2026, the Government has allocated a record €3.8 billion to disability services, reflecting our commitment to the expansion of services to meet the needs of people with disabilities. This represents an increase of almost 20% year on year and an overall increase of €1.8 billion since 2020. Approximately €2.21 billion of the funding secured will enable the Department to deliver residential services for over 9,000 disabled people, enabling them to live as independently as possible in their local communities. In 2026, this means continued support for people currently accessing residential services and an additional €65 million to support the delivery of additional residential responses and supports for adults and children with disabilities. Residential service delivery expectations will be confirmed in the coming weeks in the forthcoming HSE national service plan for 2026.

The Deputy raised a specific case in St. Michael's House. It is a pivotal provider of disability support, particularly much-needed residential supports. I am informed by the HSE that the organisation provides residential supports to 410 adults and a small number of children with disabilities across 79 centres, mostly in Dublin and the wider Leinster area. It is the intention of this Government to continue to support organisations such as St. Michael's House to provide specialist disability supports to those who require them and to continue to support people with disabilities to live meaningful and fulfilling lives, with a person-centred approach across all services provided.

The Deputy will be aware that the significant demand for specialist disability services across all regional health areas nationally exceeds what can currently be provided. This is reflective of the additional 20% budget that has been provided. While the Department is working alongside the HSE to move towards more planned provision in residential services, the nature and level of demand is such that the placements delivered tend to be in response to shorter term priority needs. It is important to recognise that the HSE faces significant challenges with regard to increasing the provision of residential placements, namely, the availability of suitable housing, staffing, the increasing cost of providing residential care, the changing needs of service users and regulation.

In order to address these challenges, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality continues to engage with the Department of housing, as well as the HSE, to explore various ways of responding to demand to provide suitable living solutions that give people with disabilities greater independence and choice in their daily lives.

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