Dáil debates

Tuesday, 13 July 2021

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Health Services

5:35 pm

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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44. To ask the Minister for Health when respite care services will recommence in their full capacity; when services provided in locations (details supplied) in County Donegal will recommence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28645/21]

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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As the Minister of State is aware, Covid-19 has presented a particular hardship for those caring for a loved ones. They have been without a break and respite. It is heartbreaking to speak to mothers and fathers who are finding it difficult to cope. In particular, I want to ask about two respite facilities in Donegal. When does the Minister of State plan for these facilities to resume the provision of respite care services? The first is Drumboe Respite House and the second is Seaview Respite House. As the Minister of State knows, the facilities are crucial and critical for carers in Donegal and they need to reopen as a matter of priority.

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this question and giving me the opportunity to address it. Seaview Respite House was closed until January 2021 but it has reopened and Rehab has the contract to deliver care there. It is open only five days a week and I would like to see it open seven days a week in the future because respite is such a crucial part and cornerstone of supporting families. Drumboe Respite House is a centre based in Stranorlar, County Donegal. It provides services including respite for adults and children with disabilities. It is run by the HSE. The service operates at capacity but provides ongoing emergency residential care.

Before I arrived, I made contact with the HSE in the community healthcare organisation, CHO, 1 area to discuss respite services. With regard to Drumboe Respite House, I am assured that accommodation for some of the residents who were there long term, as opposed to in a phase of respite, residential accommodation is being sought. This will be looked after during the week. The service will become a full-time respite centre. Until now, some people stayed longer than on a temporary basis. This is being addressed as we speak.

A review was carried out of respite services in the CHO 1 area. In budget 2021 it was determined we would open one new respite centre in each CHO area. It was determined as part of the review of the CHO 1 area that this would not happen in Donegal because there was no need. What was needed were time savings and the allocation of funding. The properties are there but the services need to be delivered differently. A respite house is being placed in the Sligo and Leitrim area for children with disabilities. This is to ensure the CHO area in its entirety has a decent complement of respite to support the families the Deputy is speaking about.

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I assure the Minister of State there is no decent complement of services for families in Donegal. We have been aware of the realities of Covid-19 for well over a year. Notwithstanding the fantastic job many staff are doing in facilities such as Drumboe Respite House, Stranorlar, which is being used as emergency accommodation for a number of vulnerable adults, children and families are being asked to forego respite care services. There is no end in sight for them.

If it is the case that contingency plans for accommodation or respite care in other facilities need to be put in place, then so be it. I ask the Minister of State to put in place a plan to reopen Drumboe Respite House as a matter of urgency. It would be welcome were she to provide a date for when this will happen. I ask the Minister of State to bear in mind that the children who use this facility are familiar with it. They know it intimately and they feel safe and secure there. This is an important consideration. After the year these children and families have faced, they deserve that the Department acts with urgency to resolve the situation and get Drumboe Respite House reopened for respite care services.

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I need to correct the Deputy on a fact. He said it is not open. Of the three residents living in Drumboe Respite House at present, the plan is that two residents will move to Slieve Sneacht, Letterkenny. A technical assessment will be completed this week and a programme of minor works will be completed on the house. This has been prioritised in the programme of work and the move will be facilitated as soon as possible to do so. One resident has been identified for a joint placement with an external provider. Compatibility assessments are under way and this will be progressed on completion of compatibility and the engagement process with the external provider. Should the joint placement not be feasible, an alternative provider will be resourced. Drumboe Respite House will be used for respite, freeing it up completely for the families the Deputy is speaking about.

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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It is not open for respite services and the families would like to know a date. Seaview Respite House in Mountcharles is another facility that provides a lifeline for many families in south Donegal and further afield. I have been raising the issue of this critical service for many years. The Minister of State said it is open for five days a week and she would like it to open seven days a week. There is no reason this cannot happen bar a budgeting reason. Will the Minister of State give a commitment to make the funds available to allow this service to open for seven days a week? It is slowly reopening but it only ever provided a five-day service. What the families are calling for, and what I am asking for today, is the Minister of State to act urgently to reopen Seaview Respite House on a seven-day basis. The need is there and it is very clear. If the Minister of State does not believe me, I invite her to come to Donegal to speak to the families who contact my office in desperation every week. They tell me in no uncertain terms that the facility is crucial. They need this support and I urge the Minister of State to look at this demand to open Seaview Respite House. She has said she would like to see it open on a seven-day basis. Let us do it. Let us make the funds available to Rehab to provide the two extra days.

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Seaview Respite House was closed until the budget became available in budget 2021. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, has brought to my attention the need for it to be open seven days at week. Conversations have started in the HSE to ensure a funding application will be put forward to expand the service from five days to seven days. The Deputy can reassure the families this is a priority in the Donegal area.