Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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101. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if significant funding will now be found to alleviate the recruitment crisis of respite care staff by the HSE in Kerry, especially for those individuals with special needs and address the fact that the majority of these families do not receive any respite for several months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20988/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Ensuring that the disability sector is fully resourced is a key priority of Government, which has been reflected in the Programme for Government.

A dedicated Disability Workforce Strategy will be developed by the HSE in 2025, to meet growing service demands and address recruitment and retention challenges across specialist disability services.

The HSE and the various Lead Agencies are experiencing ongoing challenges recruiting and retaining staff across a range of health and social care professional disciplines and grades, to fully staff requirements to maximum capacity in the disability sector.

HSE South West Disability Services along with agencies under Section 38 and Section 39 of the Health Act continue to operate in a very competitive global market for healthcare talent, given the significant shortages of qualified healthcare professionals across the globe. Unfortunately; recruitment challenges are impacting on full delivery of respite support to families. This is especially the case in rural areas.

HSE South West Disability Services and the relevant agencies are liaising on a continuous basis to alleviate any staffing shortages by maximising available staff resources across all services, by developing innovative approaches to recruitment and by effective operational planning.

HSE South West Disability Services is acutely aware of the demand for respite services and, on receipt of very welcome funding, has significantly invested in respite services in recent years. HSE South West Disability Services continues to invest in respite services, proactively seek alternative respite models and utilise all available funding to provide respite services for all children and adults who require them.

Additional funding for respite services across the country has been provided in successive budgets, and despite the challenges, respite provision continues to expand.