Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 October 2025
680. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the Department’s forecasts for the number of day service places and for the number of residential places that will be required by adults with intellectual disability in the next five and ten years respectively. [56713/25]
View answerAs set out in the Programme for Government, this Government is committed to the expansion of services for people with disabilities. In support of this, Budget 2026 has provided €3.8 billion for the delivery of disability services, in partnership with the HSE. This represents an almost 20% increase in funding year on year.
HSE-funded day programmes for people with intellectual disabilities, autism, or complex physical disabilities include a range of centre-based and community-based activities. Access to services is based on an individual’s needs rather than on their diagnosis. The focus is on supporting people to participate in the mainstream activities and in the life of their community, in line with their wishes and needs.
Specialist disability residential services are provided by the HSE, together with contracted service providers. Increasing the provision of Specialist Disability Residential Services is a key priority area for this Government and the HSE, and we recognise that the level of demand for these services is very high. In recognition of this, there has been significant investment in residential services over the course of the last number of years. As of August 2025, 8,808 residential beds are registered for people with disabilities requiring a specialist disability service.
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.
