Written answers
Tuesday, 9 July 2024
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Disability Services
Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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623. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress made in respite services since 27 June 2020; the additional funding provided in successive budgets; his plans for 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29618/24]
Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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624. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress made in residential services since 27 June 2020; the additional funding provided in successive budgets; his plans for 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29619/24]
Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to thank the Deputy for raising this matter.
Residential Services make up the largest part of the Disability funding disbursed by the HSE, 58% of the total budget. As of April 2024, Approximately 90 service providers provided residential services to 8,484 individuals throughout the country.
As Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, I am aware that there is a need for increased service provision within the disability sector and I have fought tirelessly to bring an unprecedented level of funding for specialist disability services.
An overall increase in recent years from €1.7bn at the close of 2017 to close to €2.8bn in 2024, reflects this Governments commitment to improving the lives of people with disabilities, signalling to those with a disability that this Government is serious about making a difference.
Disability Residential Services - Progress
Across the four years from 2020 to 2023 budget, this Government have provided funding to the HSE for additional residential placements both on a planned and emergency/priority basis through the National Service Plan (NSP), to deliver the following:
- NSP 2020: 56 new Priority 1 (Emergency) residential placements. 86 placements were developed.
- NSP 2021: 44 new Priority 1 (Emergency) residential placements, 68 planned residential places (102 total).
- NSP 2022: 50 new Priority 1 (Emergency) residential placements. 66 planned residential places (106 total)
- NSP 2023: 43 Priority 1 (Emergency), 23 residential packages for young people aging out of TUSLA placements, 18 delayed transfers of care in line with the Winter Plan. At the end of December 2023, 160 Priority 1 (Emergency) Residential Places were developed. This is significantly in excess of the NSP target of 43.
- NSP 2024: circa 100 new Priority 1 (Emergency) residential placements.
Under 65’s in Nursing Homes
For some people under the age of 65, nursing homes are not an appropriate setting. The HSE Disability teams are identifying people under the age of 65 currently residing in nursing homes. The HSE are working with them to discuss their supports required to move into more appropriate community settings or to enhance the quality of life for those who will be continuing their nursing home placement in line with their will and preference.
In 2021 Government provided investment of €3m to enable people under the age of 65yrs to transition to their own home with support. Budget 2022 provided a further allocation of €5.5m (rising to €13.5m in 2023), to address the situation of people with disabilities who may be inappropriately placed in nursing homes. Budget 2024 provides the basis to continue to improve access to enhanced disability services throughout the country.
The HSE is engaging with a cohort of 575 individuals for review and assessment for transition into the community or continued nursing home placements. As of April 2024, A total of 74 people have transitioned to homes of their choosing in the community since 2021 (the start of the programme). A further 55 individuals are in active planning for potential discharge. Additionally, 36 individuals have received additional enhanced quality of life supports, while they are currently continuing their placement in a Nursing Home.
Time to Move from Congregated Settings
Time to Move On from Congregated Settings (TTMO) – A Strategy for Community Inclusion was established under the Transforming Lives Programme. It is a model of support where people with disabilities are supported to move from congregated settings, often large institutions, to their own homes in the community, with the supports they need.
Time to Move On from Congregated Settings is progressing and continues to demonstrate very positive results for service users who have transitioned to living in homes in community settings. Progress made since the Time to Move On report (2009) shows that:
- 4,099 people were living in congregated settings at year end 2009
- By year end 2023, 1,532 people remained in congregated settings.
- 74 people moved from congregated to community settings in 2023, against an NSP target of 73 for the year.
Future Planning
This Government is committed to the expansion of specialist services for people with disabilities. The Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026, which I published on 14th December 2023, represents a national strategy for capacity increases and service and policy reform in disability services. It was informed primarily by findings from the Disability Capacity Review , published in 2021. The Action Plan seeks to meet extra need over the 2024-2026 period in residential services through:
- Around 900 additional residential care places to tackle unmet needs and ensure supply keeps pace with demographic change;
- 500 new community-based residential care places to replace disability care in large institutional and campus-based settings, with a view to ending that form of provision by 2030;
- Increase support for people with disabilities to access supported independent living
- Provision of supports to live at home, in order to phase out long-term care in a nursing home for younger people with disabilities
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