Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this issue and I accept her frustration regarding respite services. I welcome the opportunity to outline the current position. Holy Angels Day Care Centre is a disability agency providing services, including a preschool service, for children with disabilities in Carlow. The facility is funded on an annual basis by the HSE under section 39 of the Health Act and it received funding of approximately €720,000 in 2015. Respite services for the parents of children in Carlow were previously provided by Holy Angels Tir na nOg in Carlow. Since 2013, the services delivered by Tir na nOg have been under the remit of the independent regulatory body, HIQA, in respect of the standards of care being delivered.

In December 2015, the Holy Angels Day Care Centre advised HIQA and the HSE of the decision of the board of management to close the centre from January 2016 after they received notice from the landlord. On 16 December 2015, the HSE disability services manager wrote to the care centre requesting the development of a plan regarding an alternative approach to respite service provision to be completed In consultation with families, notifying them of the discontinuation of the existing respite service. Families were invited to meetings in January 2016 regarding respite services. To address current respite provision requirements, in March 2016 an alternative respire provision was set up in partnership with the HSE and Holy Angels. In 2016, €140,000 was allocated for the provision of respite services by Holy Angels. This is currently being provided by Holy Angels in the Delta Centre as an interim arrangement. This service is ongoing and the HSE is liaising with Holy Angels in this regard.

The matter of providing overnight respite services to families of Carlow and Kilkenny is of key importance to the HSE and to the Senator and myself. I understand that a venue for respite service delivery has now been agreed and is being finalised on a two-year lease. A tender process for service provision was completed on 27 January 2017. The tender evaluation for the provision of respite services in Carlow-Kilkenny is ongoing and has almost been concluded. It is anticipated that a recommendation to proceed on the basis of the evaluation process will be issued to the head of procurement, and thereafter to the budget holder, this week. The successful agency will then have to seek HIQA registration and this process can take up to six months. I also share the Senator's frustration in this regard. The HSE, via the successful agency, will request that HIQA fast-tracks the registration process which would be approximately four months. It is hoped, therefore, that services will commence to provide overnight respite services in July 2017 at the earliest, depending on the HIQA process.