Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, for taking this question on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, who I know cannot be here. This is a very important and pressing issue in my constituency of Dun Laoghaire. I acknowledge the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte's ongoing efforts and engagements with the families, the staff and service users of Dunmore House and Carmona Services, particularly throughout the pandemic. She has been very generous with her time, engaging on Zoom and attending on-site meetings with those involved.

However, parents, guardians and friends of Carmona Services have been in contact with me in recent days and they are very concerned. Not only were they concerned prior to this latest twist in respite care locally, but they were concerned about the waiting list for respite care generally in community healthcare organisation, CHO 6. They were advised through written correspondence from the HSE and St. John of God that a respite house in Wyattville Park has been allocated solely to one individual, which is as a result of a court case. While we acknowledge and understand the need to allocate that property to one individual, it is obviously needed, there is now a situation in which 88 people are waiting for respite, as well as an additional 33 people on a waiting list. Many of their respite hours are in jeopardy because this property was a key tool in respite within the area and for those families. It is the only respite house available to those 88 people with intellectual disabilities.

This is causing extreme distress and hardship to families. Some have been offered alternative respite 130 km away in County Wexford, which is obviously not suitable. I know the Minister of State recently committed to €9 million for the provision of respite care, which is very welcome, but we have a situation in CHO 6, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin south-east and north Wicklow, whereby we have lost key respite services. It is causing significant distress to parents and families. Just as we are beginning to return to some level of normality, they have no clarity on respite services.

Will the Minister of State engage with officials in her Department, the HSE and St. John of God to expedite the purchase of a new respite property? I know this cannot be done overnight, but the letter is quite vague in that regard. It alludes to the purchase and provision of more respite services, which was needed anyway, but this problem has exacerbated the issue facing these families and the individuals with intellectual disabilities. Can we fast-track the purchase of a property and all that entails with planning and retrofitting? It is an issue of real urgency and that is why I raise it today.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue for discussion and, as he rightly said, I am taking this on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, Deputy Rabbitte.

The Deputy will be aware that throughout the pandemic, staff and resources associated with closed or curtailed services were redeployed, where possible, to support residential provision and to provide for targeted in-home, community and tele-online supports for service users and families based on prioritised needs. For those with a disability and their families, the impact of the pandemic on those services presented challenges that are still felt today.

The HSE is very much aware of the importance of respite service provision for the families of both children and adults with disabilities and the impact the absence of respite service provision can have on other services being delivered.

Regarding the specific issue of respite provision in CHO 6, the HSE is aware of the recent escalations by services users and their families regarding access to St. John of God respite houses at Wyattville and Ravenswell. Occasionally, respite services must be temporarily curtailed to accommodate urgent emergency residential situations. Unfortunately, this is currently the case with the respite service in Wyattville, which has been impacted since the week commencing 21 February 2022. To manage the emergency, the only available and appropriate option was to use Wyattville and its staff team until an alternative location and an additional staff team are recruited. As the Deputy knows, that can take some time.

The HSE advises that families were contacted by St. John of God Services in early February to outline the situation, and that Community Healthcare East further contacted families on 24 February, apologising unreservedly for the additional stress the situation had caused. St. John of God Services have confirmed to the HSE that there are 69 individuals affected by the repurposing of Wyattville and there are nine individuals on the waiting list. The HSE advises that it is committed as far as possible to support Wyattville respite service users with supported holidays while Wyattville remains inaccessible, although I take on board the point made by the Deputy that somebody was offered a holiday in Wexford, which was 130 km away, which can be very difficult for the family. I will bring that to the attention of the Minister of State.

I can confirm that the HSE has requested information from St. John of God Services regarding the list of service users and their preferences for respite breaks to identify and prioritise individuals to offer interim respite supports. HSE Community Healthcare East is committed to considering these priorities as a matter of urgency, within the available funding. Once this information is received, the HSE and St. John of God Services will liaise with the alternative service provider to ensure there is limited reduction to the individuals' scheduled respite provision over the next six months. Communication will issue to all individuals outlining the details of the proposed supported holidays, including any transition plans that are required.

Regarding reduced access to respite in Ravenswell, the HSE advises that this is specifically related to ongoing recruitment challenges in the sector. St. John of God Services have assured the HSE that they are actively campaigning for additional staffing.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for her reply and for a copy of her statement. I specifically did not mention Ravenswell initially because it is part of the problem but that was before the latest news about Wyattville Park. The challenges that have faced Ravenswell have been there for quite some time, and recruitment was an issue long before it became an issue generally in every sector in society. I will come back to that again directly with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, who is aware of it.

In her statement, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, said that, occasionally, respite services must be temporarily curtailed, which is understood and, unfortunately, families have witnessed that over the years. She said that the HSE has requested information from St. John of God Services about creating a list for priority. That is welcome but her statement goes on to say that, over the next six months, communication will issue to all individuals outlining the detail proposed for supported holidays, including any transition plans that are required. I ask, through the Minister of State, that the Department of Health make urgent contact with the HSE specifically around speeding up that process. There is no lack of resources within the Department of Health or the HSE to try to assist St. John of God's.

This is having an enormous impact on families in south-east Dublin and north Wicklow. This news came as a bolt from the blue to them but, as I said, they have been impacted for so long by the impact of changes in respite care that many of the families cannot even plan six days in advance, let alone six weeks in advance, because they do not know when respite is coming. They do know one thing for sure, which is that respite is not coming for the foreseeable future for any of the individuals who were allocated to Wyattville Park. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, through the Department of Health, to try to speed up the process as much as possible.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Both the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and the HSE acknowledge the need for more services to provide much-needed respite to service users and their families. I take on board the points the Deputy has made. Parents are very concerned and this is very difficult for them after two very difficult years. I will certainly speak to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to see if it can be expedited in any way.

While I acknowledge the immediate issue in CHO 6 is causing distress to those families affected, I reiterate that this is a temporary measure to accommodate an emergency residential situation. I acknowledge and welcome the fact the HSE is committed to supporting the service users affected by this temporary closure as a matter of priority.

One of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte’s key priorities is building capacity in disability services, particularly in respite, in a safe and equitable manner into the future so those who care for their loved ones are provided with appropriate support to continue doing so, no matter where they live in the country. Last year saw a €5 million commitment to build capacity for an extra 10,400 bed nights for people with disabilities. In 2022, €9 million has been committed to establish three additional specialist centre-based services to provide 4,032 nights to 90 children, one to be Prader-Willi appropriate and the other two to provide high-support respite for children and young adults with complex support needs. In addition, seven further respite services will provide 9,408 nights to 245 children and adults in a full year.

I take on board the Deputy’s point that it is about the short-term issue for the families who used to receive respite in Wyattville, notwithstanding the difficult situation they were in. I will certainly bring his concerns to the attention of the Minister of State.