I wish to thank the Deputy for raising this issue and recognise the concerns raised by this family. While it is not appropriate to comment on individual cases, I wish to recognise the vital work carried out by family carers of people with disabilities and recognise the importance of the voice of the person with the disability and that they may have certain wishes about their future.
This Government is aware that the demand for specialist disability residential places exceeds what is currently provided and recognises the impact this challenge presents for people requiring access to services and their families.
The Department of Children, Disability and Equality, alongside the HSE, continues to focus on increasing provision for those who are most vulnerable in our society, and who urgently require services.
The HSE, together with approximately 90 service providers are currently providing 8,911 residential places to people with disabilities. From 2020 to 2025, 955 new residential places have been provided to people with disabilities.
In addition to residential responses, there are currently a number of supports available to assist ageing parents in supporting their adult children with disabilities. These supports include day services, respite services, home support services, personal assistance and residential supports.
Such supports are aimed at enabling people with disabilities to remain in their family homes for as long as they and their families wish. However, the Department acknowledges that in many cases, a person with an intellectual disability will require full-time residential care once their main carers are no longer in a position to provide the necessary supports.
HSE Disability Services has introduced a system called the Disability Support Application Management Tool (DSMAT) which provides a list and detailed profiles of people who need additional funded supports in each HSE area. This enables the Regional Healthcare Areas to record and manage requests for support on a local level and to ensure that the application process is equitable and transparent.
The HSE advise it is important that the individual with disabilities or their advocate/carer make contact with their local HSE Disability Manager and local authority with a view towards discussing housing or social housing supports required.
The Programme for Government commits to developing a multi-year capital plan for investment in residential and independent living options for both adults and children, and to tackle waiting lists for specialist disability services by implementation of the Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-6, and resourcing and delivering on its targets.
Budget 2026 provided funding of approximately €3.9 billion to Specialist Disability Services. In addition to funding ongoing residential placements for almost 9000 current residents, €65m has been allocated to Disability Residential Services in 2026 for new developments, which includes €40m of funding that will provide a minimum of 199 residential responses.
This includes the creation of 72 new planned placements and 80 new unplanned, urgent placements, as referenced in the HSE’s National Service Plan for 2026. The plan outlines a shift towards a more planned and responsive service model, placing greater emphasis on long-term planning for residential placements. Strengthened operational processes will help the system manage the current high demand. The funding will also support new residents in existing placements that have become vacant and need enhancement. In limited cases, it may also support placements in nursing home settings.
The majority of people with disabilities who receive new residential placements are currently living with their parent(s) or carer(s) and it should be expected that a number of the new planned places and unplanned urgent places funded in 2026, will be provided to people with disabilities, living with older parents.
To support people with disabilities and their families/carer(s), the 2026 Budget also includes €25million for new developments in respect of respite supports. The HSE’s 2026 National Service plan outlines expected delivery of an additional 10,000 overnight and 25,000-day sessions to include after-school, weekend and holiday programmes. This reflects an expected 6% increase in service delivery on 2025.
In 2026, €12.09m has been provided in order to increase the provision of Home support and Personal assistance hours for people with disabilities.
Funding for these measures will help to assist people with disabilities who have ageing parents and require supports in order to have more independence in the daily lives of their choosing.
