Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy. The Minister thanks Deputy Cahill for raising this important issue and for offering her the opportunity to respond. Respite is a vital support for families and service users and potentially helps prevent out-of-home full-time residential placements, preserves the family unit and supports family stability. In regard to respite services within Kerry, the situation is as follows. HSE south west has made significant additional investment in respite provision in recent years. In 2024, regional health area HSE south west, which extends to the Cork and Kerry area, provided 17,181 respite overnights and 2,833 day-only respite sessions and supported 760 people with a disability.

The type and quantum of respite have been increased each year to meet the assessed needs and preferences of as many people as possible. HSE south west disability services provide a range of respite models for children and adults. These include residential overnight respite centres, after-school clubs for children and young people, in-home respite support for children and adults, outreach day respite supports and holiday breaks for adults. These options ensure that respite is provided in the manner that best meets the needs of people and their families or carers.

Currently, there are approximately 2,800 respite bed nights for children and 4,200 respite bed nights for adults every year. This is of course subject to some variations according to the needs and compatibility of the adults and children availing of these services.

The HSE advises that the number of people a respite centre can accommodate at any given time is not fixed as it varies according to the complexity of clients’ needs. Within each centre, groupings and occupancy are determined by both client compatibility and the level of support required to ensure safe and appropriate care. Within that context, HSE south west disability services confirm that in County Kerry, there have been no unplanned closures of existing adult respite beds at any point during 2025. HSE south west disability services are unable to provide a definitive number of respite beds required in Kerry as the allocation of respite beds is based on a number of different factors, although it is accepted that demand is high. In Kerry, there have been two recent developments in respite provision, one for adults and one for children. The adult north Kerry respite house has been allocated additional funding to enable the service to operate on a full-time basis, seven days a week, to ensure the service is utilised to its full capacity. Additionally, several families have been provided with bespoke respite arrangements to support them in response to specific challenges. In terms of future developments, the HSE is progressing on property purchases for respite and residential services in the Tralee area. Additionally, proposals to the capital plan 2026 have been made by HSE south west disability services to fund a number of new-build residential and respite units.

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