Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing this Topical Issue matter. The Seaview respite care home outside Donegal town is owned and operated by the Health Service Executive, HSE, to provide residential respite care for physically and intellectually disabled people across south-west Donegal. Currently, there are over 100 families who use and access this service for much needed respite for them and the person for whom they are caring.

It is important to stress the families are happy with the services they and their loved ones get from the respite home. The issue today is about staffing. Previously, families used to receive respite care every six weeks where the child or person they were looking after could stay overnight in the home while the family or carer got a break. The facility was also able to accommodate them if the family had to go away for a short period at short notice or intended to go on holidays. Obviously, with limited facilities across the country, it is not always possible to take a disabled person on holidays. One of the families who uses the service told me the holiday for a disabled person was actually going to the respite home.

Unfortunately, now the home closes at 7 o'clock on a Sunday evening and does not open on Monday and Tuesday. This means the families are lucky if they get respite care twice a year rather than every six weeks as they had before. The home requires four nurses plus care staff to maintain the level of respite which had been available previously. I understand a nurse in the home is due to retire in the next several weeks, resulting in the staffing complement going down to two nurses. This means the availability of respite for the 100 families in question who desperately need it - it is the only break some of these families actually get - will be restricted even more if the situation is allowed to continue. It is vitally important the HSE in Donegal recruits the nursing staff required to allow the home to operate to full capacity and to the benefit of those families who depend on this vital service.

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Thomas Pringle for raising this important issue today. I convey the Minister’s apologies but he is unavoidably absent and would have liked to take this matter himself.

The Government is committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities which will empower them to live independent lives, provide them with greater independence in accessing the services they choose, and enhance their ability to tailor the supports required to meet their needs and plan their lives. The Government is acutely aware of the changing needs of people with disabilities and understands that many people require additional or alternative services.

The provision of respite services has come under increased pressure in the past several years. There is an increase in the number of children and adults seeking access to respite. There are also increasing levels of changing needs, due to the increase in the age of people with a disability. The way in which residential respite services are provided has also changed as agencies comply with HIQA, Health Information and Quality Authority, standards and the national policy on congregated settings. In some situations, this means beds are no longer available. For example, vacated beds for residents who go home at weekends or for holidays can no longer be used for respite.

Seaview respite house, located in Mountcharles, Donegal town, was established in 2001. It provides respite for children from the age of six years upwards and adults with an intellectual disability and-or autism on a rotational basis for 100 families in the south-west Donegal catchment area. The maximum occupancy provides for five children or five adults. This valuable facility provides for a much deserved break for families and persons with an intellectual disability and-or autism.

A recent service user satisfaction survey was completed in 2016 which provided very positive feedback regarding the staff and quality of service provided. Respite service provides a range of services, including overnight respite, day respite and a drop-in service. We are all very happy to hear about that positive feedback. The service operates a person-centred model of care and is delivered by a combination of nursing and support staff. The service normally operates on a part-time basis Wednesday through to Sunday evening, as the Deputy noted.

The staff allocation for the unit is one whole-time equivalent clinical nurse manager, 3.6 whole-time equivalent nursing staff and 4.67 whole-time equivalent care assistants. I am advised by the HSE that, for a number of reasons, including staff transfers and retirements, the service is currently experiencing a temporary staff shortage. However, I am pleased to confirm the HSE has advised me that three posts for the unit are currently being recruited via the national recruitment service, which will ensure the service resumes to full capacity. The need for increased respite and residential facilities is acknowledged and the HSE is continuing to work with agencies to explore various ways of responding to this need in line with the budget available. I hope the information that three posts are currently being recruited will be good news for Deputy Pringle.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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The Minister of State's response reads reasonably well until one turns the page, where, unfortunately, it states: "The service normally operates on a part-time basis Wednesday through to Sunday evening". That was not the normal operation of the service, which was a seven-day service. When she says the three posts will ensure the service resumes to full capacity, what is she actually talking about? Is it full capacity from Wednesday to Sunday or a seven-day service? That is the key issue in that what was a seven-day service is now operating from Wednesday through to Sunday evening, and even that is being put at risk due to staff shortages. The resumption of a full service is the resumption of a seven-day service, not a part-time service. I urge the Minister of State to clarify that point, given it is the key issue for the Seaview respite centre. A full service is a seven-day service. Will this staff recruitment mean the seven-day service is restored?

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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As I outlined, the HSE is recruiting for the posts that are vacant. My assumption is that it will be replacing the staff vacancies and that the service would resume to what it was. I will get the Deputy confirmation of that from the HSE. Obviously, we are very concerned that if it was a full-time, seven-day service, this is what will be restored when the full staff complement returns.