James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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As we know, respite provides alternative family or institutional care for persons with disabilities in order to give their carers a break, but it also provides a break to the people suffering from disabilities. It allows carers in particular to continue looking after their loved ones in the long run. Carers benefit from the opportunity to take a break and recharge their batteries. Those receiving care enjoy an opportunity for comfort and care in new and different surroundings. Respite is an integral part of our community health care system, however in reality many carers meet difficulties when trying to engage or access the necessary respite.

In Wexford there is currently a shortage of supply of respite services. Carers are people who give vital care to their children, siblings and parents and do so in a selfless manner. It is also done in the case of foster parents. And yet these carers find themselves deeply frustrated and exacerbated. The lack of HSE response very often leaves families distraught. Frequent HSE staffing changes mean that calls for support from families are often not heard. Some families find themselves waiting more than a year for just one night's break. In one recent example in Wexford, a couple with three adult siblings had to wait for almost a year and a half to get respite care. Thankfully they got it just before Christmas, but they had to wait almost a year and a half for it. They had to contact their Deputies and councillors and even take to the national airwaves to get some sort of help and support.

Many of these parents are now becoming older. Some are even in their 80s. They are trying to take care of their children and foster children and they are getting tired. If their carers were not in a position to look after the cared for, the responsibility would fall back onto the State. Residential care for these people would cost an absolute fortune. Yet if the carers are not given the support that they need and that break to recharge their batteries, that is exactly what will happen. These carers want to look after the cared for. They fought tenaciously to get the care they need in order to look after their children, and their foster children in particular. However, the State is not stepping up. I will give one particular example. Two years ago Ard Aoibhinn in Wexford town opened up. It was supposed to provide additional respite care for these families in Wexford. It is now two years since it opened and there is still no respite there because the HSE, having provided substantial capital supports for it to be built, will not provide the necessary current funding to staff it in order to provide the necessary care. Other units are very often closed at weekends. Adults and children have to negotiate to get minimal access to these supports.

The programme for Government commits to help and support people with disabilities but unless carers get the necessary respite, and I am speaking about carers in my county in particular, the responsibility will fall back on the State. We have seen some examples recently in Wexford where people needed respite care but it was not received. Children were then getting into situations whereby they required long-term care and they were being put into the short-term respite beds which led to the amount of respite available decreasing even further. I am looking for further support for respite care in County Wexford.

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Browne for raising this issue. Unfortunately the Minister of State is not here to relay his reply to the Deputy but I will read his briefing notes and then the Deputy may like to come back in. I wish to thank the Deputy for raising this important issue which I am taking on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath. On his behalf I am pleased to outline the position on respite places in County Wexford.

This Government’s ongoing priority is the safeguarding of vulnerable people in the care of the health service. We are committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities which will empower them to live independent lives. As part of its ongoing service provision, this year the HSE will provide more than 182,000 respite nights and 42,500 day respite sessions to families in need right across the country. The Minister of State acknowledges that there is an urgent need for increased respite care throughout the country. That is why an additional €10 million has been secured specifically to enhance respite care in the disability sector.

Some €8 million will be used to provide 12 new dedicated respite houses which will come on stream this year. There will be one in each HSE community health care organisation area and three in the greater Dublin area. This will add 19,000 extra respite nights in a full year. In addition, a further €2 million in extra funding will be used for innovative respite solutions, such as home sharing and extended day services, to provide assistance where people and families need it most.

In the context of respite services in County Wexford, discussions are ongoing regarding the emerging need for additional respite services and the options to be developed to meet those needs.

The Minister has been informed by the HSE that each client is assessed by either a social worker or a liaison nurse using a prioritisation tool. Respite meetings are held quarterly between the HSE and service providers to provide a forum whereby those seeking respite are prioritised, discussed and an allocation is provided. This is in order to meet their needs as far as possible, taking into account the prioritisation tool and any other information from the members of the respite forum. A respite cancellation list is also in operation. Emergency placements for instance, where a care situation at home has become critically unsafe or has broken down altogether, must take precedence over any planned respite service provision, which can be difficult for service users and their families.

The provision of respite services in County Wexford has come under further pressure in recent years. There is an increase in the number of children and adults seeking access to these services. There are also increasing levels of changing needs due to the aging client population. The need for increased respite facilities is acknowledged and the HSE continues to work with agencies to provide various ways of responding to this growing need in line with the budget available.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. The difficulty is that there is no concrete solution for the situation in Wexford. There is a unit in Ard Aoibhinn that is not being used for respite care because the HSE will not provide the necessary current funding for it to be staffed. The HSE accepts it cannot meet the increasing demand in Wexford, yet there is a unit there that can be used to help meet some of that need.

Carers have a very difficult job to do. It is an exhausting job but it is one they do with pride and care. They are also exhausted from being obliged to fight tooth and nail to get some respite so they can recover themselves. They are becoming ill and their own mental and physical health is deteriorating when they cannot get the respite they need. The carers are being let down and their adult children are being let down also. They need to be able to get a break for themselves as well.

A particular situation arises where there are two or three adult children in a family and maybe only one gets taken in for care. That is not respite for the parents at all. There was a well reported situation, recently flagged by the Ombudsman, where there were foster parents in that situation. Foster parents are saving the State an absolute fortune when they take on, support and give love and care to foster children. They need the support they should be given as well. It is deeply frustrating.

The Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Niall Muldoon, stated recently that the HSE needs to immediately devise a respite action plan for all children. It seems that some parents are finding it almost impossible to get any supports. For whatever reason, they are slipping through the cracks. The broader picture of more hours and nights being provided is all well and good. In my own county of Wexford, however, there is a desperate need for additional respite nights and care. The unit is there. We just need the funding to be provided in order that people can be given the support they need and deserve.

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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I think the Deputy hit it on the head; respite is an integral part of this. When people are dealing with people with difficulties, they have to have time out for their loved ones to go into respite. I believe that is a clear indication from all of us. I am very familiar with what it is to be a carer. My own mother had unconditional love from my two brothers, who cared for her until she passed away. I am familiar with the challenges they had living in a house with their elderly mother and most of all, the challenges when they themselves needed some kind of a break. Consequently, I understand the point.

Perhaps the Deputy can forward to me the details of the unit to which he refers. I am not familiar with it. I certainly will speak to the Minister of State on his behalf. If he is saying there is a place there that can take that, I certainly will raise it with the Minister of State as well. I am dealing with a case myself at present involving adult twins who need respite care and I have seen the difficulties that have been faced trying to have them at respite at the same time. I perfectly understand.

I will read the conclusion of my response. The national task force chaired by the head of HSE social care is identifying how best to deliver respite services in the areas of most pressing need. Community health organisation area 5, CHO 5, has submitted proposals for additional funding and they are currently being reviewed by this group. The Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, has asked me to assure the Deputy and the House that the commissioning of respite houses will come on stream as early as possible this year, subject to a procurement process, HIQA approval and staff recruitment. The Department of Health is working closely with HIQA and the HSE to ensure that the 12 respite houses can be opened without undue delay. However, there are commercial sensitivities with regard to the procurement of houses and respite services until contracts are finalised, and therefore the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath is unable to provide location data until contracts are signed.

Were the Deputy to forward to me an email about the particular service he is talking about, I certainly will raise it with the Minister of State.